Crossroads 04 - The Dragon Isles (17 page)

 
          
They
emerged on a tiny coral atoll, its surface just tall enough to avoid submerging
during high tide. They came out of the tunnel facing west, toward the way
they’d come. Back, beyond the Veil, the ocean boiled with the sea dragon’s
fuiy. Stormclouds clashed overhead, and lightning flashed down into the
breakers with frightening regularity. The crash of thunder and the roar of the
winds seemed oddly distant— unreal—as though the storm were part of another
world.

           
Somewhere below those waves, the
people of Reeftown were still fighting and dying. Mik felt glad that he and his
friends were no longer a part of that terrible struggle. He turned to the east,
away from the storm, and his heart filled with wonder.

 
          
Overhead,
the moon shone brightly amid a field of twinkling stars. A mantle of purple and
deep blue draped the sky, fading to violet and pink near the eastern horizon.
The sun had not risen yet, but already its glow painted the skyline with the
colors of the coming day.

 
          
The
ocean
lay
still and quiet, reflecting the moon and the
stars in its mirror-like, azure surface.

 
          
Dotting
the placid waters, like emeralds on an opal sea, lay the Dragon Isles.

Beyond the Veil

 
          
Tempest’s
massive jaws snapped shut, 1 splintering the coral tower into shards. She
chewed twice, to stop the annoying thrashing of the building’s defenders,
then
swallowed.

 
          
It
had been a long time since the dragon had enjoyed herself so thoroughly. Around
her, Reeftown lay in shambles. Blood stained the night sea black.

 
          
The
sea elves fought back against the sharks, razorfish, Turbidus leeches, and Tempest’s
cadre of dragonspawn. But with the titanic dragon leading them, the Reeftowners
stood little chance.

 
          
Tempest
bit another elf in half, savoring the sweet blood as it rolled down her gullet.
She butted her massive head against a bony woman trying to poke her with a
spear. The woman sailed through the water and crashed into a crumbling coral
wall. The wall collapsed, burying the spear carrier.

 
          
The
dragon surged forward, shattering an old shipwreck that had been converted into
a tavern. The patrons hiding inside scattered like minnows. Tempest gulped them
down one by one.

 
          
Something
tugged at the dragon’s mind.

 
          
It
took a few moments for her to recognize the familiar thoughts calling inside
her brain.

 
          
The
Veil! One of her minions had actually made it to the Veil’s final harrier!

 
          
In
an instant, Tempest ripped the vital knowledge from the informant’s mind.
Instantly, the path before her became clear.

 
          
Turning,
she surged toward the distant reef, leaving her minions to fend for themselves.

 
          
The
Veil shimmered ahead of her, penetrating reef and sea and sky. At its base
stood a huge stone dragon, seemingly carved from the very bedrock. The statue’s
diamond eyes blazed with the power of ancient enchantment.

 
          
The
sea dragon hissed her anger and dived forward. As she approached, the Veil’s
magic flickered, as though momentarily weakened.

 
          
Tempest
flung herself against the barrier, summoning all her arcane might as she did
so. The Veil shuddered, yielded slightly,
then
wrapped
itself around the dragon’s huge form.

 
          
Lightning
flashed from both sea and sky. Tempest felt the Veil weaken, then spring back.
She pushed forward, her titanic muscles burning with the effort. The barrier
surged around her, turning the dragon’s own force back against her. She flayed
it with spells, but the magic ricocheted back against her iron scales. Tempest
roared with fury and indignation.

 
          
The
enchantment of the Veil swirled, twisting her mind and body. The evil fish who
had accompanied her flailed about aimlessly, lost and confused. She tried to
call them, but the Veil buzzed in her head, confusing her commands.

 
          
Through
the whirlpool energies she saw the blazing eyes of the ancient statue. With a
powerful slash of her flukes she propelled herself toward it. Energy from the
diamond eyes leaped up, meeting the sea dragon head on.

 
          
Her
mind reeled. She lashed out against it, smashing coral and stone with her
talons and flukes. The sea bed shuddered with the assault. Currents swirled
around her like a whirlpool. She summoned lightning, maelstroms, lifesucking
darkness, and deadly rip-tides, and blasted them against the Veil’s power.

 
          
Again
she struck, again and again. Weariness drew over her mind, but still she turned
and attacked. She battered her body against the magic until her scales bled.
The world became a timeless, crimson haze.

 
          
Then
die resistance ceased.

 
          
Tempest
opened her yellow eyes, triumph filling her rotten heart. She looked for the
hated isles and saw—

 
          
The
reef, nearly a league away through dark, clouded waters.
At
its base a statue with glowing eyes, standing unmolested on the sea floor.
And beyond the statue, her dragonish senses detected the Veil, still standing.

 
          
She
had failed.

 
          
Once
more, the ancient magic had tricked and confused her. Once more it had deceived
her senses. The dragon howled her rage, belching a scalding torrent into the
brine.

 
          
She
devoured those of her minions unfortunate enough to be lurking nearby. The
Turbidus leeches ringing Tempest’s neck hissed with delight as they gobbled up the
scraps.

 
          
By
the time Tempest finally regained her composure, the morning sun was just
peeking over the corner of the world.

 
          
“How?”
the sea dragon wondered. “How do those small, weak creatures penetrate the
barrier when I cannot?”

 
          
Very
faintly, in the back of her mind, she heard Mog’s answer: “A diamond,” he said.
“They used an enchanted diamond. They summoned its magic, and the barrier
parted.”

 
          
“Yes!”
Revelation dawned in Tempest’s mind.

 
          
“The
black diamond would not be large enough for you, great mistress,” Mog told her
in his thoughts.

 
          
“No,”
Tempest agreed, “surely it is too small. There is one larger, though. The hated
dragons placed an ancient diamond at the root of the Veil. It must he the key
that opens all.”

 
          
Pictures
formed in her reptilian mind, a huge, glowing gem shining in the sky and a
temple sunk beneath the waves.

 
          
More
pictures came, elves and humans, and even a tasty kender, searching for the
lost treasure. Tempest smiled.

 
          
“They
will find the key to the ancient magic,” she said to Mog. “And when they do,
the Dragon Isles shall he mine.”

Vistas of Glory

 
         
Sunrise
lit the mountains of the Dragon Isles
crimson and gold, making the snowy peaks ghtter as though they were on fire.
The archipelago dotted the glassy sea like exquisitely formed gems set down on
an azure mirror.

 
          
Some
isles lay so near that Mik could hear the whispers of the surf upon their
shores. Others were
so
distant as to he only mirages
on the far horizon. A few were tall and proud, thrusting towering mountains
high into the air. Others crouched low in the water, like enormous basking sea
turtles. A number of the isles looked big enough to hide large populations of
people and even dragons. Some were so small that they could have disappeared
entirely down a leviathan’s gullet. Lush greenery tumbled down the sides of
even the smallest keys.

 
          
Standing
at the edge of this glory, it was hard to imagine a more perfect morning. No
clouds besmirched the clear blue sky overhead. The sounds of the storm to the
west had died away. A warm breeze wafted the earthy scent of the distant shores
to the small band of fugitives.

 
          
“It’s
beautiful,” Mik
said,
his voice low and welling with
emotion.

 
          
Trip
and Karista, too dazzled to say anything, nodded their agreement.

 
          
“So
it seems,” Shimmer murmured.

 
          
Ula
leaned against her spear and gazed out over the quiet sea. “I wasn’t sure I’d
ever see this place again. I wasn’t sure I
wanted
to.”

 
          
“Imagine
the wealth,” Karista whispered. “Imagine the glory of opening a trade route to
these isles.”

 
          
Ula
laughed. “Imagine being smashed on the reefs, or being devoured by dragons, or
destroyed by the Veil in faying to bring an unwanted ship here,” she said.

 
          
Karista
scowled. “We passed the Veil ourselves. Surely there is a way for a fleet of
ships to do it. You said yourselves that island privateers use crystals—like
Mik Vardan’s diamond—to sail back and forth through the Veil.”

 
          
“With
the blessing of the dragon overlords,” Ula said.

 
          
“And
such blessing is not easily won,” added Shimmer. He rubbed his left shoulder
absentmindedly.

 
          
Mik
smiled. “On a morning this glorious,” he said, “anything seems possible. Try to
win your trade deal, Karista. I wish you well at it. Who’s to say you can’t? We
all deserve a share of good luck after what we’ve been through.” He stretched
his arms wide to welcome the coming dawn and, in his mind, saw a glittering
white diamond.

 
          
Shimanloreth
stared out from behind his bronze helmet. His orange eyes looked grim. “I fear
our trials are just beginning,” he said. “Lakuda won’t be pleased when she
finds I’ve helped set you free....”

 
          
“It
would be just like that witch to send someone after us,” Ula said. A grim smile
cracked her pretty lips. “Not that they’d have much chance.” She twirled her
borrowed spear through the air, gauging the feel of the weapon on land.

 
          
“You
think she’d waste her time?” Mik asked. “She said we weren’t much of a catch.”

 
          
“Lakuda
is a proud woman,” Shimmer replied. “Offended, she might do any number of
foolish things.”

 
          
“And
Shimmer leaving is bound to offend her,” Ula added, with a sly glance at the
knight.

 
          
“Assuming,”
said Karista, “that Lakuda has lived through the dragon’s attack.”

 
          
“What’s
that?” Trip asked, pointing to something high in the sky.

 
          
At
first, the creature looked like a distant bird circling above them. It grew
larger as it descended—larger and larger still. The rising sun glinted off its
beating wings and its armored back. It burned orange in the dawn, a creature of
living fire.

 
          
“A dragon!”
Ula said, making it sound like a curse.

 
          
“Sleek!”
said Trip.

 
          
Awe
and fear battled within Mik’s heart, and his jaw went slack. True, the dragon
was beautiful, but he found it hard to share the kender’s enthusiasm.

 
          
Beside
him, Karista gasped with terror.

 
          
“Brass,
from the look of him,” Shimmer commented. “He must patrol this area.”

 
          
As
he spoke, the dragon dived at them. The fugitives—all but Shimmer—instinctively
ducked as the creature swooped low overhead. They felt the wind from its huge
wings and heard the breath heave in its monstrous lungs. Its brass scales
rattled like the armor of a battalion marching to war. Its talons, each as long
as man’s arm, shone like polished swords. The wyrm’s green eyes blazed with
fierce intelligence.

 
          
The
dragon arced back into the sky, turning northwest toward one of the nearby
islands. As it winged low over the isle and disappeared, Mik, Trip, Ula, and
Karista rose once more; Shimmer gazed stoically after the departing beast.

 
          
“Did
you see?” Trip said enthusiastically. “That was amazing!”

 
          
“We
saw,” Mik said, suppressing a shudder. He took a deep breath to regain his
courage.

 
          
Shimmer
rubbed the chin of his faceplate. “Kender have an odd sense of fun.”

 
          
“Do
you think one would give me a ride?” Trip asked, jumping up and down with glee.

 
          
“In
its stomach, perhaps,” Ula replied.

 
          
Mik
looked at Shimmer. “You said it was patrolling. Patrolling for what?”

 
          
“Intruders.
Outsiders,” Shimmer replied. “People like you.”

 
          
“And
now that it’s seen us,” Karista asked nervously, “what will it do?”

 
          
“Consult
its superiors,” the bronze knight said. “Find out if it should kill you,
capture you, or leave you he.”

 
          
“We
should,” Ula said, “hide out under the nearest key until nightfall.”

 
          
“The
water’s not an option,” Mik said. “The magic of the seaweed is exhausted. Trip
and Karista were lucky to make it out of the tunnels. We can’t go back. There
must be some other way off this reef.”

 
          
“We
could swim,” Ula said.

 
          
“What
about sharks?” Karista asked.

 
          
Ula
turned to the bronze knight and said, “Shimmer, can you carry us to that
atoll?” She pointed to a tiny island nearby.

 
          
Shimanloreth
glanced from the beautiful sea elf to the others. He rubbed his left shoulder
self-consciously. “Not all of you,” he said. “Not all at once.”

 
          
“How
could he carry us across the water?” Trip asked.

 
          
Ula
ignored him. “Then start with the aristocrat,” she said. “I’ll swim.”

 
          
“I
can swim, as well,” Mik said. He ran his fingers over the surface of his fish
necklace and was disturbed by the number of gemstones missing. He took a deep
breath and put his doubts aside.

 
          
“Boy,
that’s something!” Trip blurted. “A moment ago, the sea was clear. Now there’s
a mist rolling in faster than any I’ve ever seen. The Dragon Isles are full of
amazing tilings!”

 
          
Mik
and the rest turned and saw a low bank of white fog scudding over the water
toward them. It rounded the closest island and came with the speed of a
gale-driven stormcloud, heading straight for the narrow reef.

 
          
Ula
cursed.
“Too late, now.”
She set her spear and gazed
at the approaching cloud. “Brace yourselves. This could be bad.”

 
          
Mik
and the others—save Shimanloreth—drew their weapons. The bronze knight merely
folded his arms and stood waiting.

 
          
As
the fog drew closer, strange sounds echoed across the waves. First
came
a vague, rhythmic thrum—chanting or singing perhaps. A
pulsing splashing sound followed, mingling with the thrum. Finally, a metallic
creaking, like huge door hinges swinging back and forth, completed the weird
chorus.

 
          
A
bright yellowish shape took form in the center of the cloud. It was long and
sinuous, raised up in the front like the head of a huge serpent.

 
          
“Another
dragon!” piped Trip.

 
          
Shimmer
put his armored hand over his eyes to block out the glare from the rising sun.
“No,” he said. “It’s Lord and Lady Kell. You really might want to leave, Ula.”

 
          
“I’d
never give them the satisfaction,” the beautiful sea elf replied. She tightened
her grip on her spear.

 
          
“Back
oars!” a woman’s voice called over the chorus of strange noises.

 
          
The
cloud of mist parted, and a huge dragon-headed trireme surged toward the reef.
The ship was nearly twice as long as
Kingfisher.
Bright brass scales adorned its sides. Its three banks of oars moved in perfect
unison, sculling the huge craft effortlessly through the water. Below the
carved dragon head on its bow
lay
a wicked-looking
brass ram.

 
          
The
great ship turned gently and came to a stop thirty yards away from the coral
reef. A muscular, auburn-haired woman sauntered from the deck to the ship’s
stem. Her stylish brass armor revealed nearly as much of her impressive anatomy
as it covered. She leaned on the rail and regarded the castaways.

 
          
“Stand
to and prepare to come aboard,” the woman called. “We’re taking you into the
custody of the Order of Brass.”

 
          
“We
don’t recognize your authority,” Ula called back. “We’re free people, and we’ll
do as we please. Perhaps if you ask nicely, we’ll accept a ride. Which way are
you headed?”

 
          
“I
recognize
you,
Ula Landwalker,” the
woman said. “You’re a well-known malcontent.”