Chronicles of Den'dra: A Land Torn: Ancient Powers Awaken (7 page)

All the villagers fell silent when a low moan escaped Torroth. One look from Mytera and everyone assembled silently departed. Torroth opened his eyes a slit and groaned again. Mytera was by his side a minute later with a thin broth. Torroth was hardly able to swallow a few spoonfuls before he dropped back into a sleep. Mytera informed Encer that the fever had lessened but the lad still needed to rest.

Unable to remain inside any longer Encer took a walk. He looked over the village under its new blanket of snow. When he reached the burnt storehouse he began picking through it to see if there was anything that had escaped the conflagration. He was disappointed in this endeavor and only found ashed and burnt remnants of the food that had been stored there. In some spots smoke still rose into the air and the snow around the building was tainted a dingy gray by the ash.

Despairing on salvaging anything Encer stopped by the houses of the village trappers. The wives of two informed him that they had departed first thing this morning with every one of their spare traps intent on catching everything that they could. Accept for one the rest were making preparations to do the same. The one that wasn’t was recovering from an injury sustained a week past and still hobbled about with the help of crutches. He volunteered his traps to an able bodied trapper in the interests of the community. Encer was soon satisfied that most of the villagers were supplied well enough for the time being and baring a poor trapping season they would not starve in the future. The greatest loss aside from the food had been the tools and seed kept for next year’s crops. Several of the villagers had seed stored enough for planting if none was ground or eaten. Time would ultimately tell.

By the time Encer had finished his rounds the afternoon was gone. He hadn’t seen Verkal but that might have been due to his avoidance of the house he knew the commander to be residing in. Encer was thankful that he hadn’t built himself the largest house in the community. The largest house had been requisitioned by Verkal and the residing family had been relegated to servants in their own house. Half of the troops in the village were housed in the living room and the bedroom had been turned onto Verkal’s headquarters.

Torroth was awake and Inadar was feeding him when Encer returned. Mytera informed him that Torroth had been awake for an hour or so but was as weak as an infant. He had not said anything and really seemed not notice anything around him. Torroth eventually dropped back into sleep and the family had dinner. That evening no one showed up to complain about the soldiers and Encer retired early.

Encer’s slumber was rudely interrupted by incoherent shouts from the other room. Springing to his feet he grabbed the nearest weapon which happened to be the stick he put his wet boots on to dry. Armed with this unlikely weapon he charged into the other room. Torroth clad only in the scant cloth tied around his midsection was staggering towards the fireplace mumbling something about saving Morden. The young man struggled only for a few moments in Encer’s grip before going limp. Mytera hadn’t been exaggerating when she had described how weak the man was. Torroth was sobbing uncontrollably and awake by the time Encer had pulled him back to the bed. Encer pulled up a chair and waited until Torroth had fallen asleep again. It wasn’t from the man calming down but from sheer exhaustion. Morning dawned a few hours later and Mytera discovered Encer slumped in the chair and Torroth’s fever broken.

When Torroth awoke Mytera propped him up and he was able to feed himself. No one showed up to demand his presence not that Mytera would have permitted him to go so Torroth rested. He was still pretty quiet accept for his apologies for the trouble he had put them through. He did however perk up when he saw Inadar peeking around the corner at him. He eventually was able to coax a few words out of her or was it the other way around? Encer couldn’t tell. He kept an eye on the lad while he plied his wood chisels.

Several hours had passed in this manner when the door burst open and a soldier demanded everyone’s presence in the village square. Verkal was mounted on his horse and the items taken from the villagers were lying on a table beside him. He waited until the last villagers had arrived before announcing the reason for the gathering.

“
My men went back to the mouth of the valley in the light and found fresh dragon tracks all over the place. At first I began planning an evacuation of the village with my men defending you people.” Verkal paused as if to let this show of benevolence sink in. “I then realized that my handful of men would not stand a chance against the dragons that left the tracks so I set about finding another way to help you get to safety.” Encer found Verkal’s veneer of concern to be thin in its best spots.

“
I had my men search your houses in an attempt to find whatever is keeping the dragons from attacking you and mercilessly killing you all.” Encer was now sure that Verkal had indeed been looking for an artifact that either controlled or repelled dragons.

“
If whatever has been keeping the dragons away this long is still working why should we leave?” A young man asked impertinently then ducked behind a stouter bystander.

“
Because.” The word devolved into a long protracted hiss as Verkal searched the crowd for the source of the question. “If it stops working then you will all be killed by the dragons that are angry already at being denied their prey.” Verkal made a feeble excuse in an attempt to disguise his true intentions. Most present knew that it was not out of fear for the villager’s safety that the man acted. If he could get his hands on an artifact that either controlled or repelled the dragons then he would become the most powerful individual on Den'dra.

“
We have no knowledge of such an artifact.” Encer stepped forward and addressed Verkal.

“
Pardon me if I don’t take your word for it. You once told me that the fugitive was not hiding here.” Verkal sneered at Encer and turned back to the crowd. “Tell me what it is you use and how you use it and I will leave you in peace.” At last Verkal no longer tried to hide his intentions. The silent throng before him was irking in its stubborn refusal to grant his orders.

“
If we do then you will take it and leave us to the dragons.” Encer was prepared to withstand whatever punishment Verkal would mete out for having said what everyone was thinking.

“
You miserable peasants have no appreciation for what you have. It could be used to end our wars and make humans the most powerful race on this continent. You however would prefer to use it to protect a worthless village. I won’t let such power be wasted.” Verkal dismounted his horse.

“
What is it?” Picking up the iron shod walking stick he continued. “Is it something you say while you are holding it?” Picking up the dragon pendant he turned. “Or is it as simple as having it near you? Tell me!” Infuriated by the continued silence Verkal dropped the items he was holding and drew his sword. A couple rapid steps later he seized a child from the edge of the group and held the mother back at sword point. When he had reached the center of the group again with his soldiers at his side he put up the sword and drew a dirk and held it to the child’s neck. The mother screamed and if Encer had had his sword on him he would have parted Verkal’s head from his body’s company. It was only by the drawn swords of Verkal’s escort that the crowd was held back.

“
Tell me or I will drain this brat’s blood onto the snow. I will then take another one and do the same until someone tells me. And just in case you get any ideas about feeding me a story, I will be taking all the children with me when I test the validity of the artifact.” The mother was sobbing on her knees now. There was a hue and cry raised but to no effect. Encer could see In Verkal’s eyes that he was willing to do whatever it took to attain his goal even if it meant spilling innocent blood.

“
It’s Inadar, she is what is keeping the dragons away.” Encer didn’t know who had spoken but he realized that the girl wasn’t at his side any longer. His frantic search was cut short as she was thrown out of the crowd towards the soldiers and Verkal. He released the child he had held at knife point and motioned a couple of his soldiers towards Inadar. She was seized and standing in front if Verkal a moment later.

“
One brat is as good as another as far as I am concerned.” Encer held Mytera back from doing what he himself wanted to do. Facing the soldiers and as unarmed as he was there was no chance he could recover Inadar.

“
The dragons left her and since then they have kept us from leaving the valley.” Encer would have throttled the speaker if he had been within reach. The already hopeless situation was worse and better at the same time. Verkal stared at the girl in front of him with a new look of greed and disappointment. He wasn’t going to kill her until he got what he wanted but Encer knew what the man did to Gifted.

“
How do you do it?” Verkal held his sword tip to Inadar’s throat.

“
I... I don’t do anything.” Inadar was clearly terrified and was shaking like a leaf.

“
The dragons left you so you must be special. I will take you apart piece by piece until I find out how you do it so you might as well tell me now. If anyone told you not to tell me it was because they were selfish and didn’t want to share.” If it hadn’t been such a dire situation it might have been comical. The man was holding a sword to a child and demanding the secret of controlling dragons while lecturing her about people being selfish. Oddly Inadar stopped shaking and stood erect. Looking up into the cloudy sky she began speaking.

“
Iradaemi, Rothlt, Setur. Coemathu, burenthu. Elm'riso quir undesthrack.” The words were clearly uttered but incomprehensible. Another language. Inadar turned white as a sheet and fell to the ground before the soldiers at her side could catch her. Verkal was left standing over her with a confused expression. Before he was able to gather himself a thundering roar shook the valley.

*****

“Iradaemi, Rothlt, Setur. Save us, protect us. Heed my call and destroy the iron shells.” Iradaemi kept repeating the call as she beat the air with her wings. Her patrol had been near Dragon’s Hamlet as usual. Following the sudden terrified call she made her way north with all the speed she could summons.

Dragon hatchlings while formidable in their own right to anything smaller than a domestic dog had a defense mechanism like most creatures. A newborn fawn has no smell and blends into dead grass to hide from predators. A newborn gazelle can run like the wind scant hours after birth. Dragons can call other dragons of their bloodline to their aid in times of danger. It made sense that Inadar was able to call any dragon she chose because she was a dragon lord and descended from the bloodlines of the first dragons. With age the gift usually faded but some dragons were still able to communicate over great distances if the blood bond was strong enough.

Iradaemi crested the ridge and roared a warning to any who would harm the dragon lord hatchling. Clouds still obscured her vision but in a moment she broke through into the clear air above the village. Below absolute confusion reigned. People fled in every which direction for their lives. The meaning of iron shells presented itself when Iradaemi spied one of the soldiers clad in plate mail. A moment later she found Inadar lying on the ground in a clearing in the center of the village.

Rage built up and was released in a roar that pealed in echoes off the mountains in Iradaemi’s voice. It was echoed by Setur who had just arrived. Smashing into the ground near Inadar Iradaemi scared the horse away and advanced on the iron shell that stood over the hatchling dragon lord. With sword in hand the man hesitated a moment before fleeing. His path took him away from Inadar so Iradaemi began searching for other threats. A couple iron shells were advancing at her flanks with shields held at the ready and swords unslung.

Iradaemi laughed to herself. The dragon lord hatchling had called for blood and so it would be. Spinning she caught one with her tail and smashed the other in her maw. Setur smashed down on a couple more that were advancing from behind her. The screams had grown distant and only a few people remained in the vicinity. Most of these were iron shells. Setur set to work on these and soon only their crumpled bodies remained, the threat neutralized.

Iradaemi returned to Inadar while Setur was busy. She lowered her wings and wrapped her tail around her effectively hiding Inadar behind a wall of muscle and scales. An iron shell archer was able to release a few shafts at her before Setur dealt with him. She wasn’t worried because her winter scales had grown in close and hard. Arrows hardly scratched her even with their iron tips. Inadar was all that mattered.

Setur had rendered the white snow torn and stained a crimson shade of red. The last of the iron shells had fled by now. Only a few people remained. One was standing in the door of a house. A blanket cast over his shoulders but naught else accept for a cloth around the midsection. Setur stalked over and sniffed. The man had the same smell about him as the others but he lacked the iron shell.

Inadar had said save us and protect us. That meant she was referring to more than herself. Only the iron shells had been identified as a threat. This man had the smell of weakness and sickness about him. Setur watched as the man collapsed into a heap at the bottom of the door. Lacking the iron shell he was no threat. The rest of the humans in the vicinity were known to Setur by sight as well as smell. Iradaemi was standing over the dragon lord hatchling so he decided that it was safe to go in search of more iron shells. Standing back from the human inhabitations he took wing.