A dragonslayers tale

He placed both hands on the wand, the diamond pointing towards the ceiling and his feet in a steady position, he felt centred but he wasn’t strong, wasn’t the invincible all-knowing leader the mages truly needed now in this time of crisis. He let the spells fly, felt the power within the words and how they changed the very fabric of creation. These were spells he never had uttered before and yet he did know them, only the very top notch of mages would ever dare to learn these ancient rites of magic. He kept reciting them, Adrall did continue his chant and the diamond started to glow in an eerie pattern of red and gold. It did look like molten lava and Siverel did feel the heat from it. The wand was battling him, its magic too strong for an ordinary mage to control but he needed it, had to bridle it to be able to summon the source. He was panting, sweat flowing off him and his body did ache like crazy. He was shouting louder, his voice like thunder and there and then maybe he did look like the ancestors of olden days, high in might and wisdom. He raised the wand, felt the resistance, the sheer will behind the energy they all had relied upon for so long.

For a moment he almost forgot the final spell but he did use it, did pronounce the archaic words and saw that a glowing form did appear hovering in the air above the dais. It wasn’t the source itself, just a sort of reflection of it but that was enough. It was vast, a golden potato shaped lump of energy, once the heart of a life giving star, hurdled into space and now resting within this valley, giving off its huge power a little at a time. Siverel was in awe, but he did see something he didn’t recognize right away. Others in the past had summoned the source and described it and the web which their magic had spun around it was gone, only a few decaying threads were left. Instead tendrils of another force could be seen, one which didn’t seem to belong to this valley at all. It was weak but Siverel did reach out and there and then he did realize what had opened the pens and disturbed the spells. It was the magic of another dimension, of the very earth itself in that close by world.

He gaped, for a moment almost thrown out of balance emotionally, he felt something gathering, something very energetic and also determined and then another presence did form and the shape did change, it no longer felt like a thing but like a person. He swallowed, staring with wide eyes, Adrall was on his knees, shivering. The potato had reformed into the shape of a young woman, a beautiful slender maid with long hair and an exquisite figure. She was staring at them and Siverel felt the powers within her, the old pact made with the very land itself, one her people had held sacred. She was the source, she was the heart stone and she cocked her head and grinned, a very wry grin. “I am sorry old man, you will fail in this”

Siverel tried to remember a spell which could expel a spirit from a magical basin like this but there were none, chaos magic has no power over the spirit realm, and he knew he had lost. The source was no longer available and their own strength not enough to keep the protection up much longer. He lifted the wand, tried to kill what was already dead but it was a gesture born out of despair. It was futile, the girl laughed and raised a hand and Siverel was thrown backwards, he flew along the ground and hit the shiny floor hard. The girl laughed, the energy in her seemed to grow and she was shining like a star now. “You will fall as you have lived, hard!”

There was an intense flash and a scent of ozone and she was gone, Siverel moaned and felt that his back was injured. The wand had broken in half and his robes were scorched. Adrall lay on the ground panting and he was so scared he had pissed himself. “Siverel, what was that?”

The older mage did manage to get up on his knees. “Adrall, you have just witnessed the birth of a Goddess, praise yourself lucky she is merciful. She is a spirit of true nature, a force of both light and darkness in true balance, only one like that can cleanse the heart stone, we have been fools. ”

He got up on his feet, fighting to find his balance. “We have to warn the others, there is no way the protection will stay up for very much longer”

Out on the wall the mages were desperately trying to keep the magical barricade up. They all felt drained, weak even and they had no idea why. None of them had time to step back and think of how they all just tapped into the seemingly endless supply of raw magical energy resting beneath their feet. For those born raised and even bred there it was a part of the very air itself, they didn’t know it was there until all of a sudden it wasn’t! The dragons were attacking the wall viciously, huge mutated beasts threw their bulk against the rock and the wall had started to crack around the gate. The soldiers were the bravest ones, they had family and friends in the city and the magic didn’t stop more mundane projectiles so the archers were firing until there were no more arrows to fire. Several of the brotherhood had been there, but now they had disappeared and the mages did know that these men had abandoned them. It made them rage with fury and yet a sort of sadness filled their minds for the twelve brothers who weren’t mages had been the ones to lead them and focus their efforts. Now it felt as if a parent had just turned its back on them and it was horrible.

All sorts of monsters were assembled outside of the walls now and desperate to enter and the high mage had disappeared too. A small group of young mages tried to strengthen an older part of the wall, it was made with rather poor materials and there were massive cracks in it already. All four of them were panting with fear and exhaustion and their spells didn’t seem to have much power at all. One of them was a short and stubby man with a goatee and short hair, he was well known for his love of cakes and other sweets but he was a very skilled mage and he did know spells way above his current level. He gasped, face red and eyes bulging. “We have to find Siverel, this cannot continue. What is he doing? We need help!”

The others nodded, they were terrified and angry and confused and one managed to raise his head. “I think the high mage went to the great hall, in order to see if this could be fixed.”

The short one tried to calm himself, a dragon with a maw like the keel of a ship thrust itself against the wall and it cracked even more. “We must go to him. Now! He has to know, this is going to hell.”

The others stared at each other. “Do we even have the power to do that?”

The short one nodded. “Link with me, we can do it”

They reached out, grasped each other’s hands and shouted the right spell and in a flash they were gone.

The young mages did reappear in the middle of the great hall, just in front of the dais, they blinked and saw that Siverel and Adrall stood there, looking morose and lost and it was rather clear that something very dramatic had happened for Siverel’s robes were in fact smouldering and there was a very unpleasant smell in the air. Had Adrall peed his pants? It did look that way. Siverel did see them, his eyes dazed and blurred and his face sad. Such strong young ones, the hope of the brotherhood and now it would all be in vain. “Please, go back to the wall, warn everyone. You need to flee, and do it now. The source is no longer…it has been taken”

The short one gaped, his expression one of utter disbelief. “What? I don’t believe you, taken?”

Siverel sat down, he did look like an old man, a beaten man. “A spirit has entered it, made it into a tool of light. We cannot reclaim it in any way.”

Adrall was nodding as if to back up his leader’s words, his eyes did not leave the floor. The younger mages did stare in disbelief. “Are you saying that it is all lost?!”

The short one’s voice had suddenly become very shrill and lost its masculine strength, now the man did sound more than a bit like a hysterical woman. Siverel nodded slowly, his face was grey and he was panting a bit. “Yes, so go now, save yourselves.”

The short one heaved for air. “Save ourselves?! Save ourselves for what?! A life as beggars? A shadow existence in a world where the goddamn monsters you and the other’s in the brotherhood created have taken over? Are you insane?!”

He was roaring it and the three others did stare at the two elder men with eyes which became more and more enflamed with rage. “Is this what we gave up everything for? Is this what we have studied and forsaken all joy to achieve? Ha?! Is it this bitter end I have lived in celibacy to achieve?!”

The short man was bellowing now. “I am twenty nine years of age and a bloody VIRGIN! You fucking cunts!!”

He threw his robe onto the floor. “We have given you all we have, placed our entire future in your hands and now you are telling us it was all in vain, that we will die horribly and take the rest of the world with us?”

Siverel tried to say something, his eyes were misty. “Dear child, don’t despair, I had no idea that it would end thus, the spirit…it was stronger than I expected and…”

The man gaped. “Than you expected? Oh, so you did know that this could happen? And you didn’t warn us? You stinking idiot!”

Siverel swallowed hard, he looked down. “Forgive me child, I read the prophecies but I didn’t believe them, not fully!”

The man was sneering. “Oh don’t you “child” me you blabbering fool, you have killed us! I believed you know, we all believed!”

Siverel swallowed. “I know you are hurting, it is painful to let go of ones believes, I do know”

The short young man did almost growl. “Painful? Painful you say? Oh it isn’t painful, it isn’t anything compared with what you ought to feel you… you profaner of faith. Let me show you pain!”

The short man yelled a spell, it made the others rear back in horror and Siverel didn’t have the time to put up a defence, and he was too weak to be able to ward off such a very vicious spell. The older mage did scream as the dark magic tore into him, it made his muscled twitch to the point where the attachments snapped, tendons were pulled so taught they too tore, his back being twisted and the sound of bones breaking was heard. The high mage’s skin started to melt as if he was being burned alive and he screamed in desperation until his heart gave up under the excruciating pain and he died in a pool of his own blood and faeces. Adrall had been standing there transfixed, he turned to flee but the young mage cussed and threw a dagger at the mage, it hit him in the back and Adrall fell, desperately trying to crawl away from the young ones. “Please, do have mercy, I didn’t know, I was just assisting him…”

The short mage bared his teeth. “This makes you a part of it.”

He bent down and stabbed the other man in the back again, several times with considerable energy and rage. The other three were staring at him, pale and with huge eyes. The man got back up and put the bloody dagger into its sheath, he stared at his comrades. “We have to undo what these idiots did, there can still be a chance”

They stared at each other. “Arnar, please, listen to yourself. When the high mage could do naught what can we possibly hope to achieve? Let us run, at least we’ll live”

Arnar was sneering, his eyes blazing with a sort of madness. He had invested his entire life in this, in serving the brotherhood, sure of his reward at the end. Now it was proven to have been a hollow lie and his wrath knew no bounds. “No, I won’t live like that, I want to live as a victor, as a ruler. Not as a goddamn pawn!”

He ran over to the closet and opened it, Siverel hadn’t thought about closing the container and the remaining four wands were still there. “See? One for each of us, come now, don’t hesitate. We can save everything”

The three did look at each other and the fear in their eyes was apparent. “We aren’t experienced enough to use such wands? They are only for the high level mages, we are just level three? Are you mad?”

Arnar shook his head. “No, he was mad!”

He pointed at the dead high mage. “Here, take one each, it is an order!”

He was roaring the last words and the others weren’t that strong, they were all followers more than leaders and grasped a wand with shaking hands. The youngest of them was sweating and his eyes were pleading. “Please, reconsider, what sort of magic can possibly redo what was done?”

Arnar grinned, a very devious grin. “A summoning, onto the dais, everyone, now”

The three just stared, they looked like animals trapped in a strong light. “NOW!”

They scurried up onto the dais, avoiding the blood from their former high mage. Arnar took a deep breath and swung the wand he had taken, it was made from white wood from sacred trees and contained a ruby at the end. It was very strong and more so, very heavy but he was angry and that gave him strength. “Arnar, summoning what? We aren’t allowed to…it is forbidden…”

One of the three dared to speak and Arnar barked at him. “Shut the fuck up you whimpering imbecil, I am gonna fix this!”

He raised his hands and started to chant, it was a very dark tone to the words he was saying and the others did go very pale indeed when they realized what he was about to do. No way, he couldn’t be this stupid? Or could he? Oh by every deity, they could just hope that he didn’t succeed, after all, such summonings were left for the most powerful of mages for a reason. Very few had the strength to go all the way with such immense powers, and such dark magic. They just stood there, holding the wands and feeling cold sweat dribble down their backs, this was wrong, this was just so so very wrong.

Rhuk was running as fast as his short legs could carry him, he made sure that Goldren was right behind him and she was light on her feet and moved with such fleeting grace he was in awe of her. The streets were so narrow some places that two men couldn’t walk next to each other without touching the decrepit walls and the mud covering the ground was a foot deep and did stink. Goldren did look a bit apologetic. “This place was better before, but it has fallen into disrepair and despair.”

Rhuk helped her get over a huge pool of filthy water. “May I ask your age fair one? You are not very old”

Goldren did blush but it was hard to tell in the darkness. “I am a hundred and thirty, I am the youngest dwarf in this city. My mom died after she had me, she was too weak I think. Father never managed to get over it”

Rhuk felt a heavy stone of pity form in his gut. “Ya poor poor lass, I am so sorry to hear that”

Goldren just giggled and then she stopped and appeared to listen. “You hear that?”

Rhuk tilted his head, there was a sort of splashing sound and she was pale. “It is one of the beasts, we have to hide”

Rhuk saw a huge barrel placed on a corner and without hesitation he did grasp Goldren by her waist and lifted her into it before he jumped in behind her. They stood there like herring in a net but the barrel was deep and they were out of sight. Before long a huge creature did appear, it did look a bit like an overgrown pig with long legs and a head with several tusks and horns on it. The eyes were red and vicious looking and the thing was drooling. Goldren was stiff with fear and Rhuk felt the handle of his axe burrowing into his back. The thing was nasty, it was perhaps a natural animal, not some mutated freak but it was way larger than normal and its skin covered with scabs and sores. Whoever cared for the animal did a lousy job that was for bloody sure. Rhuk stared at the animal through the cracks in the barrel, it was ugly and probably very vicious and he was sure it had done a lot of damage in its time. He made a split second decision and jumped straight up. Few are aware of this, but dwarves are in fact good jumpers, as long as they have to jump straight up that is. They have very powerful legs and now that helped Rhuk to get out of the barrel almost as if he was flying. And while in the air he pulled out one of his axes and let out a short bellowing war cry. The animal froze, staring at the dwarf in disbelief and it didn’t really understand that it was being attacked before the blade did hit its skull with a crunching sound.

It reared back, then it snarled and came forward, growling and screeching but Rhuk had hunted wild boar and this was in fact much like a boar, just taller. He swung the axe again and brought it down as the beast rushed past him. The blade did find its way into its neck right at the base of the skull and severed the spinal cord and the beast fell without making even a sound, lights out forever. Rhuk grinned and spat at the beast. “If ya weren’t so goddamn ugly you would have made a tasty dinner”

Goldren did climb out of the barrel, she was staring at the nasty pig and her eyes were shining. “Oh Rhuk, you are so…brave!”

She was almost leaning onto him and he felt his chest expand out of sheer pride. “We are close to the leaders hut, hurry now!”

Rhuk did hear noise from afar, this part of the slum was far from the walls and he did see that the mages were using magic for the wall was lighted as if it was in the middle of the day and he could see movements on the other side of it. He hissed and ran, they didn’t have much time if they were to save the people of this city.

The hut was just that, a hut. It had four walls and a roof but that was it, a troll sneezing at it would have brought it down and it had to be both cold and drafty. Goldren raised her head and walked over to the door, it was in fact a wonder that the structure did stand on its own. She knocked and they heard a gruff voice from the inside, Goldren did send Rhuk a swift glance. “Do let me talk alright?”

They entered and if Goldren’s home had been poor it was nothing compared with this, there wasn’t even a hearth there, and the inhabitant was sleeping on the floor, in a pile of old burlap sacks. Rhuk could smell moulds and rot and the female who stood there staring at them was rather old but her eyes were flint hard and filled with anger and determination. “Goldren, what are you doing here now? It is dangerous being outside now lass, and who is this handsome young dwarf?”

Rhuk hadn’t been called young or handsome for decades and now it was his turn to blush violently. He swallowed. Goldren did open her mouth and started telling about the whole thing, why Rhuk was there and the dragons and the group. The female was listening and her eyes were narrow but got darker and darker and she slammed her hand into the wall when Goldren was done. “By his hammer, this is bad. I can hear that something is going on but I never anticipated anything like this. Oh boggers, we have to get going, now!”

She turned around and started digging through the pile of sacks which was her bed, she hauled something out of it and Rhuk blinked. It was an axe and it was exquisite, the best workmanship he had ever seen. Goldren was staring too. “Samila, where did you get that one? They will kill you if…”

Samila just sneered. “I made it, I am smarter than some cheese brained human. Come on lass, we have to warn everyone”

Goldren nodded. “How?”

Samila stared at Rhuk. “She has told ya of the tunnel haven’t she? Good, we have worked on a plan for many years ya see, and everybody knows of it. All we need is for the magic to be removed so we can enter”

Rhuk frowned. “Ah, what?! How are you supposed to do that?”

Samila grinned. “Fate has spoken today young one, finally we have a distraction strong enough for us to use it. The mages won’t care about the slum when there are dragons snapping at their precious hides”

She walked over to the wall and removed a plank, there was a room inside and she pulled out a horn. “Everyone in this goddamn slum knows that if this horn sounds they have to gather everyone and head for the mines, right away. No hesitation, no questions. Anyone who fails to come will be left behind, easy as that. “

Goldren was frowning. “I have never heard of that?”

Samila nodded and went towards the door. “No, for you are too young, but your father knowns.”

Rhuk tilted his head. “And even the humans are told?”

Samila nodded and went outside. “All the races are told young one, even the elves. We may have had our quarrels in the past but there we are all trapped in the same goddamn shit and we help each other. It is the only way we can survive”

She put the horn to her lips and blew and the sound made Rhuk moan and plug his ears. It had to be heard all over the city for it was the most piercing sound he had heard, ever! It sounded like the bellowing hounds of hell chasing a herd of infernal cattle down a slope made from barbed wire. Samila blew the horn for many minutes before she ended it with three long hoots with a clear pause between them. She turned to Goldren. “Go back to your father and make sure he gets help, he cannot walk on his own anymore now can he?”

Goldren shook her head. “No, he cannot”

Rhuk was fidgeting with his axe. “But, the magic?”

Samila smiled and he sensed that this dwarrowdam was tougher than flint and able to go whatever lengths necessary to save her people. “We do have magic you know, dwarven magic isn’t strong but it is bound to the earth and two of us have trained for years now. They can bring down the barrier in the tunnel, but make haste now, quickly”

Goldren gasped and ran and Rhuk was straight behind her, suddenly there were dwarves filling the streets and getting through was hard but Rhuk did manage to push his way. Goldren came straight behind him and he could hear the sound of her feet in the mud. Oh those lovely feet, he would wash them with his own beard after this was over, she was worth that, and more. Dwarves and humans were all heading in one direction and few did even bother looking at him and Goldren, it was clear that the plan was a good one and a well-known one for nobody carried things they didn’t need. Everyone was poorly clad and most was thin and grey and he mumbled in pity and disbelief. He even saw some human children and shook his head. Goldren saw it. “Yeah, I know. Humans breed like cats, they can have little ones even here, and I cannot understand how a species can be that fertile though, their females must conceive just from looking at a male”

Rhuk had to swallow, that gave him some very unwelcome ideas, Goldren’s long and lovely toes doing unspeakable things to his….No, not the time for erotic fantasies, not at all. He kept running and they burst through the door of Goldren’s home. Dabin was already making a sort of backpack in which to carry Goldren’s father, the blind dwarf sat on the edge of the bed and he did look scared. Goldren ran over and touched him gently. “Worry not father, we will be out of here, soon enough.”

Dabin smiled and the relief was visible, he must have been afraid that they wouldn’t return. “Quick now, help me get this contraption on, I can carry the old one easily enough”

Rhuk did fasten the different leather straps and the he and Goldren did lift the old dwarf carefully and placed him in the backpack. Rhuk did see that the dwarf’s legs were just skin and bones and one had been broken but put together again badly. Goldren grabbed a couple of pans and then she nodded at them. “Follow me, I know the way, and don’t stop. We have little time if the dragons do get through”

The streets were crowded but there wasn’t chaos, everybody were heading in the same direction and some were obviously tasked with making sure that nobody was lagging behind or creating bottle necks. All the streets were used and Rhuk was impressed. They were heading straight for the mountain side and everybody gathered in orderly lines, not much sound was heard neither for people did shut up. Rhuk saw that there were a lot of humans there and most did look very miserable. Some were stronger but they too were obviously slaves and then he saw some elves. Goldren was right, they suffered the worse, some were almost skeletal to look at and so weak others had to carry them and most were males. The few elves that did look good were very young and all of them were male. Samila was already there, and now Rhuk saw that tunnel. It was a mine and it did look like a naked mouth without teeth. No dwarf ought to be afraid of entering the mountains thus but suddenly he was. It was a morbid thought but it looked as if that tunnel was ready to swallow them all.

Dabin was panting, the old dwarf wasn’t that heavy but he was too weak to hang onto Dabin so he was more or less hanging from the straps and they were digging into Dabin’s flesh. Goldren was nervous, staring towards the wall. “See? I think the barrier is about to give in!”

Rhuk squinted, the flashing lights made it hard to see but yes, it did look as if the magic was failing. The entire slum and most of the rest of the city had to have arrived there now, there were thousands of people gathered in a small space and the silence was eerie. The only part of the city which hadn’t been warned was the nice areas where the rich people who were in league with the brotherhood lived, they were on their own now. Two dwarves did run forth, both were male and not very old and they touched the rock next to the entrance with reverence. Then they started to sing, clear strong voices which seemed like a brutal contrast to the mayhem around them. The entrance did shimmer, like a lake on a day without wind and it was obvious that this was very hard for both appeared to be in pain and they were sweating but the shimmering shield appeared to simply sink into the ground until it was all gone. They hadn’t removed the magic for that was impossible, they had just moved it out of the way. Rhuk bet that the brotherhood never had thought of that solution before.

The first lines started to rush into the tunnel and Samila stood there and made sure that everything went smoothly. Then two elves came running up to her, both in tears and obvious distress. “Please, some of ours, they are in the citadel, in the chambers of the masters. We have to do something, they cannot be left behind!”

Rhuk saw that the long line of humans and dwarves was disappearing into the tunnel with surprising speed, people were desperate, that helped a lot and gave them new strength, and they were able to run when they in reality ought to be too weak to walk. Samila made a grimace. “I am sorry, we cannot wait for them, we have to save as many as possible, there isn’t time”

The elf let out a wail and Rhuk swallowed hard, he couldn’t imagine what those poor wretches had been going through and he stepped forth. “If someone takes Goldren and her father to safety I and Dabin can go looking for them”

Dabin blinked. “We can? Oh, yes, of course, yes we can”

He saw Rhuk’s murderous stare and smiled, but his eyes did reveal that this was something he never had expected. Samila frowned deeply, crossing her arms. “Alright, but you are on your own, got that? The tunnel may close before you make it back”

Rhuk almost stepped in one place. “Oh I know, don’t worry. We will save those poor souls”

The elf fell to his knees and tried to kiss Rhuk’s hand. “Oh bless you, bless you noble dwarf. My son, they came for him yesterday, he is…he is a tall one, with black hair and green eyes, find him, I beg you!”

Rhuk shuddered, a young and pretty elf in the hands of those bastards? Oh he was rather sure that this poor elf knew what his son was going through. “I will find him, what is his name?”

The elf sniffed. “Saerian, he is my light”

Dabin rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything and Rhuk grinned, a very determined grin. “Right, we will free everyone, come on Dabin, time to go!”

He grasped Dabin by his arm and pulled him along, indeed there was little time to loose.

Phraan and Dhokay had managed to turn three of the columns around and both were exhausted, Zaray was guarding them and the tiny dragons were scurrying around in odd patterns and here and there sparks would fly off them. It was rather obvious that they removed magic like tiny washing women wiping off dirt from a floor. The circle was broken, the symbols did lose their power and Zaray was helping them shift one more column. “This is the last one, I bet the magic will be broken now.”

Ivran was nodding, he could feel that the magical force there had diminished a lot, now there was almost nothing left, they could just hope that this would reverse the changes.

Phraan moaned, his back hurt and his hands were raw, the columns weren’t smooth but rough like sandpaper. Dhokay was larger and physically stronger than him and he had put every ounce of strength into it. The column did move a last inch and there was a sort of moan coming from the circle. The light within it flickered and went out and there was silence. The tiny dragons all let out loud shrieks of joy. Zaray smiled, she did look pleased. “Great, I think we made it. The magic will be undone now”

Dhokay did shrug. Ivran was staring at the circle and his eyes were narrow, his expression one of anticipation. Phraan did sort of smile. “Uh, folks, the dragon said it would take time, no point in standing here is there?”

Zaray touched the nearest column. “I would really like to know that nobody would be able to replicate this, is there some way to destroy the columns, at least erase the text on them?”

Ivran bit his lower lip. “I can try?”

Zaray smiled. “Alright, but be careful, there is still some residual magic here.”

Ivran was rubbing his hands together, imagining the symbols all mixed up and unreadable. There was a faint flash and then the symbols did change and move about. After a while they stopped and Zaray was staring at something none of them had expected. “Ah Ivran, hmm, when you were studying, did you by chance visit the local library?”

Ivran nodded. “Yes?”

From his side he couldn’t see the actual text and Zaray was grinning so widely they saw her back teeth. “That library shouldn’t happen to have books of a more…risqué…nature?”

Ivran went pale, then he went red and ran around, staring at the texts which now was easily readable. Zaray giggled and started reading out loud. “Oh my love, thy touches are like fire and come and fill me yet again with thy…”

Ivran did punch her, desperately. “Oh shit, oh no, ah, I didn’t read those books, I just happened to see…”

Phraan was laughing. “And there we have the winner of the worst excuse ever award, don’t worry, I bet the brotherhood will find this amusing, or annoying. Who cares anyhow?”

Ivran was still beet red and the tiny dragon queen made some snickering sounds as if to make the situation complete. Zaray giggled again. “Come on, I bet the dragons are about to break through very soon”

Phraan wondered if Fastonar would be there when they returned to the square, or if he had used the opportunity to escape. Zaray saw his expression and touched his arm gently. “Phraan, I know, I know what you are thinking”

He swallowed hard. “How?”

She shrugged. “Imeah told me a lot, more than you think. The two gems, Vitile did find them you know. I took them from the horn of her saddle after she died. Someone knew she had them and thus she had to die.”

Phraan swallowed. “Can it be someone else?”

Zaray looked down. “I doubt it, it fits too well. He did hang that man so he wouldn’t be able to tell us anything.”

Phraan stared her straight in the eye. “If he is the one behind this I hope I get to be the one to kill him. I owe that to Vitile, and Imeah”

Zaray smiled and stroked his cheek gently. “Yes, you do. I will not stand in your way but hold back for now, we cannot risk that he does anything stupid”

Phraan bared his teeth and there was a sheer anger in his eyes. “He already has, if he tries to do anything to hinder us I will not hesitate but end him, there and then”

Zaray sighed. “Yes, and it is your right, but remember, fate does play a strange game. He may yet be of use to us, no matter what he has done or will be doing”

Phraan clenched his teeth together. “I hear you.”

He just walked on and the tiny dragons hissed and followed him, the queen climbed onto his shoulder yet again, sitting there with a royal expression and her tail neatly wrapped around his braid.

The hall with the circle had some other entrances than the one they had used and Dhokay stared at them. “Should we check things out? There could be valuable things to learn here”

Ivran shook his head. “No, there is no time, I can feel it, the barrier holding the dragons back is failing now”

Phraan could somehow sense it too, the air seemed to vibrate with some sort of dark energy and he looked at Zaray. “Hurry, we do have to get out of here fast”

Ivran was visibly nervous. “Oh I wonder if the thing we just did will have an effect or not?”

Phraan swallowed and ran, the tiny dragons running in dense lines between them. “Somehow I think that we will find out, very soon”

Tersus had tied the young novice to a chair using some chains from the meat locker, when the man did come to his senses again he found that he was wrapped like a ham and Tersus had pulled down the hood and on the desk behind him he had laid out a very neat collection of sharp objects, including a cork screw and some filet knives. He had also found some small vials from the bags and mixed some stuff in a ceramic bowl, it did ooze and bubble and Peter did stare at the stuff with doubt and dread. What the fuck was this thing? He didn’t want to go anywhere near it. The young novice did blink, he was confused and when he felt that he was tied up he did panic. “What is this, release me! I demand it”

Tersus did play a little with a knife right in front of the man, he stared at the blade and he was very pale. “Who are you? What is this? My master will smite you if you harm me!”

Tersus made a grimace. “Ah, not to be negative or anything but I don’t think your master, whoever he is, will do much smiting stuck between the teeth of some mutated dragon monster, pardon me for saying so”

The young novice was trembling, he obviously wasn’t a hardened and prepared person that was for darn sure. “Ah…what…what are you talking about…”

Tersus smiled. “The fact that the dragons have escaped their pens and your superiors have done a little oopsie and now they are on the loose on the other side of the city wall? They are about to break free as a matter of fact, will be here soon”

The novice gaped. “You’re lying, the masters would never do a mistake”

Tersus chuckled and tested the edge of the blade. “Ah but they have, sad isn’t it? All this power and glory, all these things so precious to you all, in a few hours it will be naught but a mere memory, and of course give some poor dragons a bit of indigestion for frankly? Your kind is not what I would call tasty, rather the opposite”

He grasped the young man’s chin and forced his head back. “So, you do have a choice and I think you will see that I am most reasonable after all. You may even save your master ha? That would be fun wouldn’t it?”

The young one was panting and fighting the chains and the ropes. “Let go of me! Now!”

Tersus smiled slowly, he did look like a cat that has caught a fat rat. “Oh no way son, you see, you are gonna tell us a little secret and if you do, well, then I won’t have to cut you into tiny dice. Doesn’t that sound good?”

The novice stared at the blade, he was pale. Tersus did look at the face with the expression a buyer uses when trying to determine whether or not a horse is worth the money the salesman asks for. “Hmm, your left ear, it is a bit large now isn’t it, what if I cut off a bit of the top?”

He did a swift move with the knife and it was so sharp it just slid straight through the ear, without any effort at all. The young novice didn’t even register any pain at first but when he did he let out a piercing cry and tears started to flow down his cheeks. “I…I won’t talk, I know no secrets!”

Tersus tilted his head. “That is where you are wrong kid, you do know secrets, fat juicy ones too. Listen carefully, all we want to know is how one removes the magical protection laid upon the dragons? And of course, where is the gem which controls the great wall, that isn’t much to ask for is it?”

The novice trembled. “I will not talk, I am not afraid of knives and pain”

Peter did see that the blood was flowing from the cut ear and the young novice was terrified but he did try to be brave. He did have some qualities after all. “No? That is unfortunate for then I will have to use something way worse”

Tersus grasped the ceramic bowl and placed it closer to the young man, the smoke which rose from it did stink terribly and it was a sharp and very unpleasant smell. Tersus grasped a kitchen knife and admired it for a while. “Such a good knife, very well made, high quality steel, sad really but what the hey, there are more knives here right?”

The young one was confused and blinked, he didn’t understand at all and Tersus did sigh and dip the tip of the blade into the bowl. When he pulled it out a small glob of something was stuck to the tip and as they watched the steel did shrivel and melt like an icicle in summer. Tersus sent the novice a sardonic smile, he did look a bit like some leering demon at the moment. “So, what molar should we start with, the ones at the very back of your mouth? That usually does it, most people do scream more than talk but what the hey, at least we can have some fun ha?”

The novice stared at the ruined knife, he was shaking all over. “Have mercy, please, I’ll talk, I’ll tell you all I know but I am just a novice…”

Tersus did toss the knife away, it landed with a clang in a corner. “See? That wasn’t hard at all, now we are gonna be best buddies kid, as long as you answer truthfully you have nothing to fear at all”

The novice whimpered, his eyes were bloodshot. “What are you?”

His voice did shiver. Tersus raised an eyebrow. “What I am? Why of course, I am the one thing you dark mages fear more than even a spell gone awry. I am an alchemist!”

The young one swallowed and he seemed to shrink a bit in the chair, Tersus did look very proud. “So, how can the protective magic be removed?”

The young one swallowed hard. “I am not perfectly sure, but there is a room near the top of the citadel, they say it has something to do with a magical artefact of some sorts. It is not far from the high mage’s office. And…and they say it is very dangerous to disturb the spells uttered there”

Tersus did pet the young man’s head, like he would absentmindedly pet a dog. “Good, good, you are doing great, the wall?”

The young one stared at the bowl, the smoke was still rising and it was obvious that the acid in it scared him more than even the darkest of magic. “A gem, it is held in the high mage’s chambers I think. I haven’t seen it but it is supposed to be very powerful”

Tersus nodded. “And now, the final questions, the most important one. How does one get to the high mage’s chambers unseen?”

The novice was sniffling. “There are hidden stairs, the entrance is not far from here, it looks like a cupboard. You have to push it sideways and then turn it outwards.”

Peter did look fascinated. “And you know this because?”

The young one did almost hiccup, he was crying so badly. “My master is important to the high mage, helps him a lot, he is a good master. But I have had to help him carry stuff up to the high mage’s rooms many times”

Tersus did smile widely. “See? We have found the goose with the gold eggs, we are in luck aren’t we. Thank you kid, you have been most helpful”

The novice swallowed. “Can…can I go now?”

There was a faint tone of hope in his voice and Tersus smiled. “No, but you will be allowed to live. That ought to be enough. I am not usually that lenient but I like you kid”

Tersus did cut the ropes and loosened the chains and then he pushed the novice into the meat locker where several sides of beef did hang and he threw some bottles of wine in there too before he locked the door from the outside. The novice didn’t even protest. Peter frowned. “Are we gonna leave him in there?”

Tersus nodded with a chuckle. “Of course, we cannot drag a bleeding novice with us now can we? Don’t worry, that meat locker is the safest place there is right now, not very cold, very solid and there is no way he’ll starve to death the first few months.”

Peter scoffed. “Yeah, and if the dragons do break free and enter the city this room will be like a magnet, fresh meat, lots of it, and one novice”

Tersus just laughed. “Well, at least he is sweet enough to make a proper meal”

Peter did roll his eyes, he was rather sure that this novice had a very short time left to live, he did release the piglet since they didn’t need it anymore and the animal did scoot off, he felt that it had a way better chance of making it than any of the mages.

Tersus started walking towards the place the young one spoke of and lo and behold, the cupboard was there. Tersus did push it and it did move, although reluctantly. The opening behind was dark and very narrow, it was hardly place for one person there and the stair was very steep. Tersus stared at it with a frown and an expression of doubt. “Ah by every mineral, that is no job for anyone in bad shape, talk about stairway to heart attack. Well, we’d better get going. This is going to be a tough climb”

Peter just sighed and felt tired already, the goddamn stair looked like an honest attempt at torturing people without letting them know they were being tortured. Tersus did enter and hoisted up his robe and he was surprisingly fit but then again, he was probably just skin and bones and not much weight at all.

Crassian had been riding along a river he had met after some hours. The river wasn’t wide but rather wild and there was some forest growing along the banks, he could use it to seek shelter if he saw more dragons. He was soon to enter an area he knew was inhabited and he was dreading what he knew he would see. The terrain became more ragged and less flat and he could see hills in the distance. The air was very cold there and he was keeping his hands inside of his coat to warm them. The horse was tired and he couldn’t ride hard, he just allowed it to keep its own pace and luckily the animal was easy to control so he just steered it with his knees. The river went over some waterfalls and then it reached a more calm area and Crassian did take a small break. He was hungry but had no food so he tried to snare some fish and managed to get one, it wasn’t large but it was meat and he was no stranger to eating raw fish. It did fill his belly and he felt a little better as he rode on. The day was coming to an end but he couldn’t take the risk it was to camp for the nigh. He had to go on and he let the horse walk slowly along the river as he was half asleep in the saddle.

He had no idea of for how long he had ridden when he saw fire up ahead and he blinked and woke up, he stopped the horse and stared. It was perhaps a mile away along the river and it wasn’t really bonfire, it was more like the afterglow of a larger fire and his heart sank. It had to have been a small fisher village. He made the horse move again and saw that the skies were getting lighter in the east. He had slept in the saddle for hours and he did feel a little better. It was a village, there could have been perhaps ten houses there but now they were burned to the ground and it was nothing left of anything. The boats which lay by the shore had been smashed or burned and he saw some dead cows and sheep too. The dragons had been there, the soil itself was scorched and black and it did stink of sulphur and burned flesh. It was already daylight when he reached the village and covered his nose with his cloak, the smoke was so hard to breathe inn and burned his lungs so he tried to protect himself. He saw dead people, burned bodies lay between the buildings and some in them and he cringed and tried not to get too nauseous. The smell of scorched flesh was overwhelming and he fought not to let it shake him too much, he felt like a wretch for being alive, for being the one who escaped when all these peaceful people did perish.

The horse nickered and stopped, the ears moving and Crassian grasped for his sword, something was moving and he was afraid it was a dragon which had been left behind but it wasn’t. It was a person, a young man who crawled out of the bushes very slowly. Crassian held his hands up. “I am no danger to you, are you the only one to survive here?”

The young man made a sort of rasping sound and coughed violently, he had obviously gotten too much smoke into him and he was pale and in obvious distress. “I…I am, I was… I was…”

He coughed again and Crassian saw that he did have some burns on his arms but he wasn’t too badly injured. Crassian got off the horse, his legs felt like pieces of lead but he was able to walk. He saw that the young man was shivering and in obvious shock. “I am Crassian, I am an officer in the king’s army. Can you tell me what happened here?”

The man sat down, tears were drawing lines in the sooth covered face. “I…I am Eimar, I…I was on the river, fishing. The monsters, they didn’t see me. They…burned…everything!”

Crassian put hand on the young man’s shoulder. “Was it a huge pack?”

Eimar nodded. “It was, it was…more than a hundred, small and large…and some didn’t fly. But it happened so fast, nobody had time to run…it was terrible”

Crassian saw that the burns the young man had were rather deep. “You are hurt, how did that happen?”

Eimar let out a piercing wail. “I tried to see if someone was alive, I got pinned down by a burning log but it wasn’t that heavy so I managed to get it off me again”

Crassian sighed. “I am sorry, nobody survives an attack like that. You were lucky”

Eimar let out a wail. “Lucky? How can you say that?! I…I am the only one left, my family…they all…”

Crassian nodded. “I was one of a group of five, the dragons got the other four, but I made it, because I was lucky. You are alive son, maybe the Gods have some sort of plan for you yet”

Eimar sniffed and Crassian swallowed. “You cannot stay here, there is nothing left. There aren’t any horses in the area? You have to come with me, you won’t be safe on your own”

Eimar shook his head. “We don’t have horses, but we have boats”

Crassian frowned. “The boats I have seen are destroyed?”

Eimar nodded. “Yes, but we have a larger one, a barge, it is moored further down the river”

Crassian got an idea. “The river, can it be sailed down to the cities in the south?”

Eimar nodded. “Yes, we often do that, it isn’t ideal for the river is rather large now but we can do it yes”

Crassian smiled. “Then my friend we have a plan, we take the barge and head south. There could be other survivors there and you need some medical attention, those burns are nasty”

Eimar just cringed and nodded and Crassian got up. “Let’s go, show me this barge of yours”

A little while after Crassian stood on the deck of a rather wide bottomed barge which was surprisingly large and stabile. It had one mast and a rather primitive sail but as long as they followed the river they wouldn’t need it. The barge was large enough to have room for Crassian’s horse and they had tied the animal into a sort of room at the back of the vessel. Eimar did prove that he was a skilled sailor and they were already on their way, the river gave the barge good speed and Crassian sat down and leaned against the mast. “Is there any dangers we have to look out for?”

Eimar shook his head. “No, not really. There are some areas with rapids but they aren’t too bad and this old girl has survived them before. The river is so full of water now the rocks are under water and since she floats very high in the water we should be safe”

Crassian nodded and he saw that Eimar was pale and sweating. “You are injured kid, shouldn’t I be the one to take the helm? I am stronger than you”

Eimar sent him a pale grin. “I am not too weak to steer, and I know the river, you don’t. No offense sir, but I can do this. It has been my life and my job”

Crassian smiled. “Yes, I know but if you are in too much pain tell me and we can take a break, there is no point in torturing yourself. “

Eimar looked down. “It isn’t too bad, I had expected it to hurt more actually”

Crassian sighed. Third degree burns, the nerves were burned away so there was no pain but there was a high risk of infection. “If you start to feel feverish let me know, there are herbs which can help.”

Eimar nodded and turned the rudder a wee bit. “I will, don’t worry”

Crassian felt that Eimar was trying to be braver than he really was and he was afraid that the young one would push himself too far. “So, how far is the nearest city”

Eimar was thinking fast. “The first settlement we’ll reach isn’t really a city, it is a town, a little larger than my home. We’ll be there in a couple of hours. Then we have a larger town which is called Greywater since they dye wool there and it colours the river at times. The first real city is half a day south of there, it is known as Ardubad”

Crassian was thinking. “I have heard of it, a mining city?”

Eimar nodded. “Yes, largest settlement along this river, it is run by a family who made a fortune digging for gems. They own the area, and they do earn a lot still”

Crassian was frowning. “How many live there?”

Eimar shrugged. “I don’t know for sure, perhaps five thousand?”

Crassian swallowed hard, tried not to think of the sheer mayhem the dragons could cause in such a place. “So, does the city have any defences?”

Eimar looked at the river, there was pain in his expression. «No, none. No wall, no mote, not even a proper fence. There are some dwarves living there and they are fighters for sure but they won’t stand a chance against the dragons.”

Crassian closed his eyes. “Let us pray that the dragons have taken another route.”

Eimar sent him a shaky smile, it wasn’t very convincing. “Yes, let’s hope so”

They both knew it was a hollow hope at its best!

The four young mages had started a summoning and they all knew that this was a sort of magic you could start but never quit until it was fulfilled. A half done summoning would leave a hole in the very fabric of space and anything could get through, things you wouldn’t want to encounter at all could appear and the three were staring at Arnar with huge eyes and fear written all over their faces. Arnar was insane, he was shouting words none of them had even heard and where in hells name had he learned those rituals? Not even the high mage would have tried doing this? One of the three had already pissed himself as black lightening shot through the air, weaving a bizarre cage around the circle and they all felt the magic there as sharp stings against their skin. If Siverel had been alive he would have done everything he could to make sure that this failed, he would have seen what they were doing. A summoning is very dangerous, not only because of the things you can summon, and they can be bad indeed, but because of the power needed. A summoning require so much magical energy it will drain an ordinary mage and thus a summoning need at least four to be complete. Bringing something through the web of reality, through dimensions and worlds into our own is no easy task and no mage, not even the darkest of practicians of the worship of chaos would dare to what Arnar now was doing. The ritual was sucking magic out of the very air, it was no longer able to use the heart stone to feed from so it used whatever else it could reach. It felt the magic of the mages which were protecting the city and with a sort of sigh it devoured both that and the barrier.

If Simaon had been there he would have laughed for now his last curse did become reality, the coin he had dropped had lain there between some cobblestones unseen and now its magic finally saw how it could finish the final command of that now long gone leader. It flared with ancient magic and added its power to the spells of the young mages, made sure that the doom would come to the mages and the brotherhood. Without their magic the barrier would give way and they would really be killed by chaos, the chaos they themselves had created. The coin would have been very pleased had it had eyes to see what it had achieved. The magic in it gave one last blast, then it went out, spent completely and the coin was just a coin again, it would never be awakened again since there would be no dark mages left to use it. It was just a lump of gold now, and the crack in the pavement its final resting place.

There was a silent shivering of the air and in front of the four the air seemed to split and something started to appear. Something large and black and terrible and the three screamed in absolute horror. They couldn’t move and Arnar was sneering, his eyes ablaze in madness. He knew that a summoned being has to be anchored to this world and there just one way to do that, with sacrifice. He pulled his dagger and ran over to his friend to the left, the man tried to raise his hands to defend himself but he couldn’t move. The blade did pierce his throat and blood did gush out of the wound, several feet into the air before the mage did tumble to the ground, gargling and wheezing, desperately trying to do something to save himself but it was too late. The monstrosity in the rift was getting more solid, more real and Arnar was chanting continuously. The ritual called for the sacrifice of a virgin but it said nothing about it having to be a woman now did it? Neither of them had ever fucked anyone and now his friends were his perfect tools to achieve his vengeance.

He did slay all three one by one and the figure did grow and the rift got wider, it was staring at the bloodshed with red glowing eyes and it was grinning. It liked this, it enjoyed pain and blood and despair and it stared at the pathetic mortal who had dared to summon it. There were others behind him, waiting to come forth and he stepped out of the rift, and the mortal was waving a wand, madness showing in his eyes. The demon grinned, this mortal would taste so very sweet, you didn’t disturb the rest of the dark hunters unpunished. Arnar was panting, staring at the huge creature. It was shaped like a man but it had wings like a bat, legs like a ram and the hide of a dragon. The head did remind him of a sort of twisted feline but it had skin like a beetle and the eyes, they were horrible. Arnar was panting hard, his soul trapped half in awe and half in terror. “I order you to destroy the dragons outside of the walls”

The demon sneered. “And what is in that for me puny mortal?”

Arnar was trembling, for the first time he did doubt his own actions and resolve and he stepped back a step. “The souls of my brethren, they don’t deserve to live!”

The demon tilted its head, a mane of long featherlike hairs did cover it and it was a sight of both terrible beauty and horror. It bared its long teeth. “Those souls are not enough to stay the hunger of me and my brother’s. Why should I obey an insect”

Arnar was waving the wand. “I summoned you, you have to obey me!”

The demon was laughing, the sound was terrible. “Oh do I now? I don’t think so, you are not in a holy circle, you are not prepared by the hands of anyone holy and your flesh is impure”

Arnar stared at the towering giant, at least fifteen feet of muscle and magic, and he realized that he had done the worst blunder a mage can possibly do. He had focused on the result, not the path towards it. The demon chuckled and Arnar saw more behind it, breaking through into the world. “So you are just a light snack, but fear not, we will feast for sure”

The demon reached out and grasped Arnar like a kid grasps a toy and Arnar screamed and tried to hit the demon with the wand but the creature’s energy did consume his and his body was tossed onto the floor, completely dried out. The demon tossed his head back and roared in triumph, a new world to conquer, a new world to devour. Ten of his brother’s followed him and he licked his lips. This would be so easy, so very easy.

At the wall the barrier gave way, it happened very fast and suddenly there was a gust of hot air and dragons did rush forth followed by dreghil and elementals and other monsters too. The crumbling wall was no protection and the mages realized what a blunder they had made when they made their creations immune to magic. Spells and tricks didn’t work at all, and for the ones who had gathered on the wall it was at least quick, most died immediately, devoured by flames and acid and some were dissolved or devoured by the dreghil. The soldiers who had been summoned to protect the city didn’t do much better, they were even less of a challenge for the monsters and now the buildings near the wall caught fire and it looked like a scene from a nightmare. The flames spread and the dragons with them, they were scurrying through the city, looking for people to eat. The odd thing was that they found very few until they reached the area near the citadel, there they did found better buildings with living beings inside them and thus the dragons got slowed down a bit. The city was doomed, there was little doubt about that, the fire spread rapidly and it was becoming an inferno.

Tersus and Peter had made it to the chambers the novice had spoken off, they were not that luxurious but large and Tersus did look for the gem everywhere. He was rather sure that such an important thing had to be kept near the one who was in charge and finally they did find it, in a chamber placed on its own not far from the office. It was a stair going downwards and the room was rather small and built from stone. The gem lay in a sort of cradle which was decorated with diamonds and the value was enough to give anyone the shudders. But the gem was what caught their attention, it wasn’t large, but it held such power and Tersus frowned as he got closer to it. The colour was deep golden red and it was beautiful, they could see how colours were swirling around inside of it and Peter cringed, the energy coming from the gorgeous thing was painful. Tersus smacked his lips, tilted his head. “It is probably worth more money than the entirety of Twelve towers but what the hey, this thing is bad right?”

Peter nodded, he didn’t want to go anywhere near it and Tersus grasped a bag and pulled out a vial. It had a sort of purple liquid inside of it and Tersus smiled, a very pleased grin. “This ought to do the trick ya”

He opened the vial and without hesitation he poured the somewhat sticky liquid over the gem. At first nothing happened, then a really thick and stinging smoke did start to rise and they heard a shuddering and cracking sound, as if the gem was splitting up. The liquid was bubbling and oozing and the gem simply started to melt. There was a sort of shockwave moving through the room and then the gem was no more and the magic in it had disappeared too. Tersus smiled and put the vial back into the bag, he hadn’t used all of it. “Now they will have a hard time getting through that wall again, they are trapped here”

Peter took a deep breath. “What about that other thing?”

Tersus chuckled. “He said near the top of the citadel right? We are almost at the top, so come on, no time to waste!”

They left the office and ran as fast as they could through the corridors, the rooms were empty and they heard sounds from the city which indicated that the barrier had disappeared. Tersus was swearing. “Shit, the dragons will be here soon, hurry!”

Peter was scared half to death but he tried to think logically. “Stairs there has to be stairs here somewhere?”

Tersus nodded. “If they don’t teleport into the room, but I don’t think they would do that, it can disrupt the magic. The room has to be large, look for a wall with no doors”

They ran and at last they did find a stairway leading upwards and lo and behold, halfway up there was a door and it did look very impressive. There were magical symbols covering it and Tersus took a deep breath. “Here goes, this has to be it. I think the roof is the next door up”

He pushed at the door but it was locked and he scratched his head. “Oh damnation, I don’t suppose you have a key Peter? No? Well, then we have to become creative!”

He grasped the bag and pulled out two small jars, both held some sort of thick paste and he smeared some of the content from one of the jars on the lock. He seemed a bit nervous and Peter did back away a few steps. “Is that dangerous?”

Tersus shrugged. “Nah, only if you don’t know what you are doing, ah, well, it is dangerous, you see, these chemicals are chronically unstable and I have never managed to get it quite right but it is mostly working well, mostly.”

Peter did back away even further as Tersus did smear paste from the other jar on top of that from the first, with a stick. “And if it doesn’t?”

Tersus did back off too. “Then it explodes, violently”

Peter saw a huge ornamental vase placed next to the wall and he sought cover behind it. “How reassuring!”

Tersus did wet his lips. “Doesn’t seem to be working, should have eaten its way through the steel by now, what…”

That was all he had time to do before the door exploded into a cloud of splints, steel shrapnel and smoke. The alchemist was thrown backwards and landed on his back with a groan and the cloud of debris hit the wall on the other side with a sound like a hailstorm against a tin roof. Peter screamed and ducked and the entire building seemed to shake. Tersus sat up, shaking his head, picking a few pieces of wood out of his hands and arms and clothes, he was rolling his eyes. “Oops!”

Rhuk and Dabin had been running as fast as they could towards the citadel and luckily nobody stopped them, they did see a few guards but the men ran towards the walls and didn’t even notice the two stubby dwarves who were running so fast they looked a bit like bouncing balls. They followed the cliff face towards the huge building and they heard the roars and screams from the wall and knew that time was running out. Dabin was cussing all the time. “Goddamn it Rhuk, I know you wanna impress that little beauty of yours but you didn’t have to volunteer like this? And drag me into it? It is madness”

Rhuk was panting, he wasn’t used to running and a dwarf is no sprinter, they can walk for days carrying heavy loads but running? No way, they were simply not made for it. “Come on Dabin, what were we to do? Leave those poor souls in there? Let them become dragon snacks? Alright, I want to impress Goldren but we would be monsters if we let people die when we can save them.”

Dabin stared up ahead, the citadel was enormous. “Look at that Rhuk, how the hell are we supposed to find anyone in there? Ha? It will be like finding a needle in a haystack!”

Rhuk just shrugged. “We must do our best, at least try”

He pointed at the building. “See, there is an entrance near the cliff, it doesn’t look important at all, it could be a servant’s door or something like that”

Dabin scoffed. “Oh yes, or a way to a quick death, they are mages Rhuk, mages! I bet every entrance is protected by some insidious spell”

Rhuk reached the door, it was old and made from wood and rather worn. “Well, here we are and I think we have to try. I am ready to take the risk, you can go back if you like”

Dabin rolled his eyes and his lower jaw slid forwards, giving him a rather fierce expression. “Aw crap, right, I am with you, but if you get us killed I swear to the great allfather that I will haunt your ghost until the ending of the world!”

Rhuk shrugged and kicked the door open. “Sounds fair to me”

They entered a very narrow and very damp corridor and since they were dwarves they did see rather well in spite of the lack of real light. The corridor did go in a spiral upwards and after a while they entered a sort of storage room. Rhuk smiled. “Feel the smell? Potatoes, this is their potato cellar. I bet the kitchens are nearby and that means that the servant quarters are nearby too, and from them we can find the masters chambers too”

Dabin sort of scowled. “I doubt it will be that easy!”

Rhuk smiled. “Don’t be such a pessimist, think about it, we will be heroes.”

He ran off and Dabin moaned and followed, if falling in love really made people this stark raving mad he hoped by every deity he never would fall victim to its sweet sting. Rhuk was right, they came to a long row of kitchens and there were people there, servants and cooks and they were obviously terrified and locked inn by the guards. Everybody could smell smoke and several of the females were crying. When the two dwarves kicked down the door and suddenly stood there among them some passed out and a couple of the chefs did grasp whatever they had of kitchen knives and tried to look dangerous. Rhuk stared at the crowd, there was perhaps a hundred people gathered there and all looked as if they had lost all hope. Dabin saw that Rhuk almost grew, he put his chin up and chest out and stared at the oldest of the men present. “You, have your masters locked you inn?”

The man nodded. “Yes, their loyal guards did, they gathered all the servants here. Didn’t want a rebellion while they were out there, I don’t know who gave the order”

Rhuk smiled, a very soothing smile. “That doesn’t matter, I smell fire, is the place burning?”

The man nodded. “Yes, someone has started a fire in one of the halls, we don’t know who. The guards have run off to fight the dragons and there is nobody left, the masters are trying to flee I think”

Dabin pointed at the door they had kicked down. “Go through there, and the potato cellar, there is a small door at the back of it, behind some crates. Follow it, it leads to the outside and run along the cliff. There is a tunnel leading away from this valley but you have to hurry for it will be closed off soon”

The servants started to run and Rhuk turned to the old man again. “Quickly, there are elves here? Slaves? We need directions, we have to find them”

The man swallowed. “Go to the far end of the dining hall. There is a red door there, it is locked but the key hangs in a tea kettle on the wall, it is a stair behind it. It goes up to the private chambers of the masters, the…pleasure…slaves are locked away in a room behind a large pool. There are twenty of them, but some are very weak”

Rhuk nodded. “Thank you, I am grateful. Go now, hurry. The barrier is about to break and then this place will be the dragon’s feeding ground”

The man pressed Rhuk’s hand and then he followed the others, Rhuk grasped a couple of carving knives and a meat cleaver and attached them to his belt before they ran and Dabin was panting. “Oh by the allfather, if the…gods…wanted us to…gasp…become sprinters why didn’t they…gasp…give us longer …legs!”

Rhuk just chuckled, he was older than Dabin and more used to pushing himself and his clan was lighter than that of Dabin. It didn’t look that way but they didn’t have such a heavy skeleton and were more agile. They did find the door and the stair easily enough and ran upwards. The odd thing about dwarves is that they are experts at running in stairs as long as the steps aren’t too tall. They have such powerful leg muscles they bounce up rather easily and there are few able to get up long stairs faster than dwarves, which makes sense thinking of their vast underground cities where stairs are everywhere. Before long they entered the private chambers of the members of the brotherhood and Rhuk lifted his hand and made Dabin shut up. “Listen!”

He whispered it and they slid in behind a huge tapestry, someone was moving and they peeked out from behind the tightly woven fabric. Three men came running, carrying bags in their hands and they did look dishevelled and panic stricken. None of them wore the robes of a mage and they seemed to be well fed and well groomed, their clothes expensive and their general appearance one of wealth. Rhuk was squinting, these men were running and before long five more appeared, also carrying stuff and in a similar state of fear. One was trying to organize the escape, he was waving his arms and his voice was shrill and loud. “Listen, listen damn it. We cannot go through the main gate, it is too dangerous. We have to use the hidden exit”

One of the others yelled back, his face red. “But only Siverel has the right spell to open it and he is nowhere to be found, we have to go out the front”

Another whimpered. “There is a fire down there, we could end up getting burned, please! There has to be a way to get out of here?”

A fourth raised a hand. “There is a servants exit near the stables, we can use that. “

All the others looked shocked. “A servant door, now that is preposterous, it is so below us”

The first man hissed. “And being burned isn’t? The barrier is failing, if we leave through the front we will be visible from afar, the dragons will see us!”

Everybody fell silent. “But the mages will keep the dragons back won’t they?”

The voice was a mere squeak and the first one almost barked. “If they can then why are we trying to flee ha? Come on, the stables is the only safe way to get out of here”

The men shrugged, and the one who spoke started to run and soon they all followed. It was rather apparent that they had taken the most valuable things they could find for Rhuk did see both gold and gems stuck into the bags. It was odd that people think of such useless items when fleeing for their lives, weapons, food and clothing was what they should have taken, not such trinkets which couldn’t help you at all in an emergency.

The men ran and Rhuk let out a sigh of relief, Dabin scoffed. “It isn’t fair, they shouldn’t be allowed to get away”

Rhuk just shrugged. “Know what? I think the Gods will punish them the way they see fit, we have other things to worry about, hurry”

The pool wasn’t that hard to locate, they could smell it from afar and it was placed in a great hall which was made to look like a garden with very pretty trees and benches and a lot of luxury. Rhuk spat, it was a fake beauty and one which just harboured misery. The door was at the other side of the pool just as they had been told and Rhuk took a deep breath and approached it. “Listen, we have to make sure that nobody is left behind right? So we may have to carry some, elves are light, but if you see something we can use as a stretcher do let me know.”

The door was locked but two strikes of Rhuk’s axe brought it down and they were through. The room behind it was a harem, no other word could describe it. It was luxurious and ridiculous and Rhuk was about to call out to hear if anyone was there when a huge figure appeared from a side door and rushed towards them. It was a human, a very fat man with a silly thin voice and a rather fat body and he wielded a sort of short sword. Rhuk swore and now he did demonstrate why dwarves are feared warriors. He didn’t hesitate even for a second, the dwarf did spin around with the elegance of a ballerina and the axe cleaved the air with frightening speed. “Take this you overgrown squeaky toy”

The man was obviously used to exploiting his huge mass to his advantage but that didn’t quite work out the way he wanted to this time. He hit only air and the axe cut off the man’s arm above the elbow. Dabin finished the job by cutting off a leg and as the man fell Rhuk took his head. They grinned at each other, the body shook a few times and went still and they moved forth. “Of course this goddamn torture chamber has a guard.”

The next thing which happened was that a huge dog came barking and it stopped when it saw the two dwarves and looked absolutely confused before it whimpered and took off with its tail between its legs. Dabin chuckled. “Good boy, play being a coward”

Now they did hear sounds and they entered through a door and saw something which made them just stop and stare. It was a group of elves and Rhuk let out a gasp. Most were more or less naked and they were all skinny and sickly looking and most had scars and bruises. Even in spite of this they were beautiful and there were both males and females among them. They stared at the dwarves with scared eyes and one dared to speak, the voice barely audible. “Have the masters changed their taste now? Dwarves?”

Dabin raised his hands. “No, oh no, we are friends, we are here to get you out. The masters are fleeing, there has been an accident and dragons are on the loose, you have to hurry”

Rhuk stared at the elves, he didn’t see a tall young male with black hair. “Saerian, where is he?”

The one who spoke sniffed. “They came for him last night, the room….the room with the red door…it is closed…”

Dabin swallowed. “Alright, all of you who can walk has to do so, try to help those who are weak, are there any among you who cannot walk at all?”

None answered and the dwarf let out a sigh of relief. “Good, now, Rhuk will go for Saerian, I will help you, we have to be swift and stealthy, alright?”

The elves got to their feet, big eyes in emaciated faces did follow them and Dabin wasn’t angry at Rhuk anymore, they would have been just as bad as the brotherhood if they had let these people stay there to be killed by the dragons. Rhuk ran off, he found the red door not far from the main chamber and kicked it inn. He was strong enough to do that and he immediately felt the stench of blood and other bodily fluids. There were no lights in there but he saw and he moaned and closed his eyes. He wished that he had attacked those goddamn humans after all, they deserved to die horribly. The young elf was strapped down over a sort of narrow bench and he was alive but just barely. The head hung and he was breathing with an odd rasping sound. The floor under him was covered with blood and his legs had been chained to the bench, as was his hands. In that position there was no way for the poor wretch to defend himself and there was no doubt about what he had been through. Rhuk swallowed hard, he was tempted to let the poor soul flee to end the agony but he had promised that he would bring the young one back to his family and he would.

He yanked out the chains and snapped them and he threw a sheet around the naked body. Saerian was very tall even for an elf and Rhuk threw the unconscious body over his shoulder with a groan. They would need a stretcher for sure. Most elves don’t survive being raped and Rhuk could smell that this had been done by many, not just one. An unholy rage started to build up inside of him, to elves rape is almost a taboo, something they cannot even fully comprehend and to dwarves even more so since they have so few females and they are held in such very high regard. To a dwarf such an act is completely terrible, and something no dwarf has ever committed. Rhuk sighed and tried to run back, Saerian was just too tall and his feet did touch the floor and so did the long silky black hair. Rhuk yelled at Dabin. “Make a stretcher, use those curtain rods, and some clothing or something. He is too tall to be carried otherwise”

Dabin and a couple of the other elves got to it right away and they managed to make a sort of stretcher. Two of the other males stepped forth. “We are not strong, but we can carry him. There is a little strength left in us after all”

Rhuk smiled. “Appreciate it, let’s go! The barrier could fall any minute and then the city will be crawling with dragons”

The elves didn’t make any sound, they just followed and Rhuk felt nervous for the first time since they left the others behind, they did really have to hurry now!

The fleeing men had made it to the stables, only to find that the guards had taken the horses and they stood there feeling completely confused. The one who had taken the lead was almost foaming at the mouth. “Quickly, we have to make it to the wall, there is a chance we can get through since we aren’t mages”

The others just stared at each other and they were shivering, the shimmering barrier which held the dragons back was so weak and they knew that they couldn’t outrun an army of angry dragons. The leader snarled. “Come on, we have to hurry, leave the gold behind!”

The men blinked. “We need it, when we get to the plains we can buy what we need and…”

The leader rolled his eyes. “Fools, the dragons are out there, we put them there remember? There is nothing to buy but all the more to take. Leave everything heavy and run!”

The men looked at each other, none of them were young and the sacks heavy, they dropped them with groans and the leader nodded. “Right, we have to seek cover where we can, keep your heads low and don’t stop”

They started to jog towards the gate which leads to paths taking them to the canyons and the magical wall, they had almost reached it when they heard a roar and turned around. The dragon which had followed Phraan and the others had roamed the city and now it had felt the stench of evil and its mind was set. His species had been abused and changed and turned into something horrible, something they never had been meant to be. He saw the men and knew that vengeance was close at hand. He had already killed several men who had been trying to flee the city the same way as these and he had in fact decimated the brotherhood pretty much all of his own, the men who weren’t mages had tried to flee rather early and he had been ready for them.

He roared and the men froze, staring at the huge beast with shock. The barrier hadn’t given way yet? But this was some sort of dragon wasn’t it? The dragon had once been free, once been among the ones born in the wilderness and only magic had bound it to this city but the old mage who had summoned him had set him free and given him a form once more and now he was not going to waste that opportunity. The men were not warriors, only a few of them were armed and now they tried to run. It was a bad mistake. The old dragon did not have flames, but he had jaws and he did also have glands which secreted a very strong acidic fluid. A bite was lethal, no matter how small. He threw himself forth and moved so fast it was hard to believe. One man was caught by his maw and died with a scream and the dragon roared, the taste of the evil was sweet indeed and he charged again, his body size made him lethal not only because of his bite but also because of his weight and he ran a couple of men down and crushed them under his scaly feet.

It was a time of pay back, a time to reclaim what was his and he didn’t hesitate at all. Blood was running from his jaws and the prey was not that hard to kill, it was just a joy. His mates and his kin had been abused and now it was his right to avenge them all. When the last of the men had died he shook his head and stared at the wall, the barrier did burst and he felt an unholy evil somewhere in the city, something way worse than the dragons and the mages. He growled, he had friends there, he turned back and headed towards the city once more, he had to help if he could.