Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (17 page)

"We hadn't noticed." The huge warrior murmured with a straight face.

"You'll want to set course for the western side of the island." Brody told Captain Harper. "We want to make dock in Celestia, the capital of the Elven Island. That is where the queen is awaiting our arrival."

Damion informed the others of their arrival, and they all gathered on deck and watched as Captain Harper skillfully guided the Fearless Lady into a small harbor filled with a number of tiny fishing boats. He carefully pulled the large vessel up to a stone dock that had been constructed along a white sandy beach, then several sailors leapt over the railing and hurried to secure the massive vessel.

"It doesn't look like these docks were designed for anything much larger than a dingy." Shirk commented as the deckhands quickly began to unload their horses and gear.

"They weren't." Brody informed him with a shrug. "This waterfront is traditionally only used by fishermen. There is a larger harbor on the eastern side of the island that is occasionally used by a chosen few who export the various wines that we produce at our vineyards, but the queen wished to see us as soon as we arrived, and it's a five day ride from the eastern coast to Celestia. Sailing straight here was much faster."

The arrival of a huge ship in the tiny harbor drew a fair amount of attention from the locals, who gathered along the dock to stare at the new arrivals with worried expressions. Several gasped in fear when they caught sight of Damion, who towered over everyone around him, while others quickly scurried off to spread the news of the arrival of outsiders on the island. It wasn't long before a dozen heavily armed elves appeared to investigate the disturbance.

Brody immediately hurried up to them and began speaking with their leader quietly, apparently assuring him that Damion and the others had been invited by the queen.

Once the deckhands finished unloading all of their belongings, Damion turned to Captain Harper. "I'm not sure exactly how long it will take us to settle this mess." The huge warrior told the old sea captain, holding out his hands helplessly. "I can't ask you to wait for us, although it would be a solace to know that we had an ally here ready to aid us if needed."

"There's no reason to ask." The old captain assured him with a wave of his hand. "Go ahead and take as long as you need. I'll be here waiting when you return." He drew Damion aside from the others. "I'll have my men circulate among the locals and learn whatever they can. They may be able to locate something of interest for you."

"I'll try to check back in as often as I can, then," The huge warrior nodded. "but make certain that your men aren't obvious about what they're doing. Our arrival has already been noticed." He gestured to the crowd of elves. "We don't want our purpose here announced to everyone as well."

They grasped one another's hand for a long moment, then the eccentric old sea captain waddled back aboard his ship to oversee the cleanup of the lower decks, which had held the horses during the long journey.

Damion and the others waited patiently as Brody continued to speak with the leader of the soldiers, then the elven ambassador finally rejoined them.

"Is everything okay?" Raven asked in concern.

"Everything is fine." Brody murmured, glancing at the elven soldiers, who continued to watch them with distrust. "Some of our people were alarmed by the presence of outsiders, and alerted one of the street patrols to our arrival." He cast the leader of the patrol a dark look. "They thought they were going to force us to depart once again, but I set him straight."

"What did you tell him?" Delilah asked curiously.

"I told him that if he and his men didn't stand aside, I would make sure he spends the rest of his days scrubbing chamber pots." The elven ambassador smirked. "He didn't seem to find the prospect very appealing."

They all started to make their way into the city, passing by the leader of the patrol and his men, all of whom watched the companions with suspicious expressions, then they continued along a cobblestone road which led towards the heart of the elven capital.

"Welcome to Celestia, my friends!" Brody declared in a grandiose tone. "The center of the elven kingdom, and source of all that is good in the world!" He let out a slightly giddy laugh. "Perhaps that's a bit of an exaggeration, but as you can see," He gestured to the beautiful city that sprawled before them. "it is unlike any other city on the planet."

Damion looked around and had to privately agree. The elven city
was
unlike any other city the huge warrior had ever visited. The buildings throughout the city, though beautiful, were oddly designed, with steeply pitched roofs and tall spiraling towers which looked so delicate that one would expect them to tumble over in a light breeze. They had been constructed out of white quartz which had been sanded and polished until it shined, and were dotted with enormous windows that allowed the sunlight to stream inside. The avenues leading through the fairytale-like city were broad and flat, and paved with precisely cut cobblestone which had been fit so tightly together that there had been no need for mortar. There were large grassy parks which had been manicured to near perfection, and huge bronze statues of elves in various poses, which gleamed brilliantly in the morning sun.

"This place is incredible!" Raven murmured in amazement as they followed Brody down the broad street. "There is so much beauty here!"

"When my people first moved to this island, it was as wild and untamed as any uninhabited island." The elven man smiled. "It took my people thousands of years of patient toil to create the paradise that you see around you. It took nearly a century of work just to design the layout of the city, and another to decide on what type of stone to use in its construction."

"Where did your people live while the city was being designed?" Shirk asked curiously.

"We constructed a city in the trees called Oakenvale, deep in the forest at the base of Mount Vesirius. It still exists to this very day." He smiled. "I visit Oakenvale anytime that I feel like getting away from the bustle of Celestia. There is a kind of peacefulness there unlike anywhere else that I have ever been."

They continued on through the city, drawing many looks of surprise as they passed by the citizens of Celestia, most of whom stared in open amazement as Damion, with Snowfeather perched sedately on one shoulder, rode by on Storm, who was prancing outrageously.

"Knock it off, you big goof." He laughed as the huge stallion nickered happily.

"Why is he doing that?" Delilah asked with a musical laugh.

"He's showing off for the people." Raven told her with an amused smile. "He thinks it will impress everyone."

"I think it's working." She gestured to a group of elves who were watching their passing with expressions of astonishment.

A sudden blur flashed through the air directly towards Damion, who, out of pure instinct, twisted in his saddle to avoid the streaking arrow, which passed with an inch of his face and struck a sapling near the edge of the road.

"Assassin!" Brody roared, spurring his horse in the direction that the arrow had come, but he soon returned wearing an angry expression. "There's no sign of the attacker anywhere. They must have ran the instant after they fired the shot."

"Who do think it could have been?" Raven asked, staring with wide eyes at the quivering arrow that had nearly killed her husband.

"It almost had to have been a blood elf." Delilah murmured with a frown. "They must have realized that Relvin and Eldrin failed to kill the Dragon Lord in Sevria, and are trying to finish the job."

"What do you want to do?" Damarius asked the huge warrior.

"There's nothing we can do." Damion told him with a shrug. "We'll just have to keep our eyes open, and wait for them to slip up. When they do, we'll be ready for them." He glanced at Snowfeather, who was busy rearranging his feathers after nearly being thrown from the huge warrior's shoulder.
"Would you mind keeping watch and making sure that there are no more surprises waiting for us ahead?"

"I suppose so."
The huge owl agreed with a hoot, launching himself into the air and circling overhead.
"It looks clear from here,"
He reported after a few moments.
"but there seems to be a fairly significant crowd gathering near the center of town."

Damion quickly relayed that to the others.

"Word has probably spread of your arrival." Brody frowned. "Many of the elves here have never even laid eyes upon a human, let alone an entire group of humans. They are probably gathering near the Royal Tower in the hopes of getting a glimpse of you and your companions."

They continued to steadily make their way through the city, and soon began encountering more of the curious elves, who had gathered to line the streets and watch as the companions passed by. The companions all smiled friendly smiles at the nervous looking elves, many of whom hesitantly returned the smiles, although some scowled at them in distrust, while others merely watched with reserved expressions.

"This is beginning to feel a little like parade." Shirk grumbled sourly.

"That would be fine, if someone wasn't trying to kill us." Damarius frowned, scanning the crowd for any sign of another impending attack.

"How much further is it until we reach the palace?" Raven asked curiously.

"That's it just ahead." Brody gestured to an enormous spiraling tower which had been constructed in the center of the city. "It was built by Ramon the Elder, the first king of the Elven Island. He designed it to be the tallest tower in the city so that he could watch over his people."

"It looks as though a good sneeze would send it toppling." Damarius murmured, staring at the delicate looking tower with an educated eye.

"It may appear that way, but it has stood unmoving through countless hurricanes and typhoons since it was first constructed over fifteen hundred years ago." The elf puffed out his chest proudly. "Our masons make dwarves look like rank amateurs. There is nothing that can compare to elven craftsmanship."

They soon arrived at the large plaza which surrounded the enormous Royal Tower, where they found a huge crowd gathered to watch them arrive. They slowly made their way through the excited crowd towards the looming tower, then stopped as a dozen elven warriors hurried forward to block their path.

"Halt!" One of the elves demanded in an unfriendly tone. "What business do outsiders have with..." He suddenly spotted Brody and Delilah, who nudged their horses forward to get his attention. "Etha Brody! Ava Delilah! When did you arrive home?"

"We made port an hour or so ago." Brody informed him as he slipped down from his saddle. "What is the situation here?"

"Much the same as it was before you left." The elf shrugged. "There have been a couple of attacks against different families, but, thankfully, no one has been killed since you departed." He glanced to Damion, who still sat atop Storm. "I'm guessing that this is that fabled Dragon Lord that you were sent to retrieve." He looked the huge warrior up and down with an appraising expression. "He's impressive looking, I'll give you that."

"I thought that information was supposed to be kept secret." Brody frowned in disapproval.

"It was," The soldier laughed, then gestured to the surrounding crowd. "so, of course, everyone knows about it." He let out another laugh. "You should know by now that nothing remains secret on this island for long."

"Is that right?" Delilah asked mildly. "Then how is it possible that Yrinn the Outcast has been able to return to the island without alerting everyone to his return?"

"Yrinn is here on the island?" The elf's amused expression suddenly crumbled. "Are you certain that you are not mistaken?"

"As certain as we can be." She quickly described the attack by the blood elves who had managed to stow away aboard the Fearless Lady. "We managed to question one of them briefly, but he died before he could confirm that it is Yrinn who is luring our people into worshipping Hetris."

"That's not all." Brody added with an angry expression. "Someone attempted to assassinate the Dragon Lord as we made our way through the city. An arrow came within an inch of killing him! If he hadn't managed to avoid the shot, all of our hopes would have been destroyed!"

"I'll double the number of men out on the streets, and order them to keep an eye out for anyone acting suspiciously." The elf murmured with a frown. "In the meantime, the queen needs to be informed of what you have learned immediately." He looked back to Damion and the others with an uncertain look on his face.

"Don't worry, Kofi," Brody assured his kinsman earnestly. "The Dragon Lord and his friends are here to help."

"I truly hope so." The elf murmured, his expression still uncertain. "We need all of the help that we can get." He turned his gaze to Damion once more. "Welcome to our island, Dragon Lord." He said politely, though the expression of concern was still etched on his face. "I would like to thank you for agreeing to lend your aid in rooting out our enemies. You come highly recommended by Dar of the Alena. He seems to think that you are the only one who can get to the bottom of all of this mess. A word of warning, though," He fixed the huge warrior with a serious gaze. "If you bring harm to our beloved Queen Serena in any way, you and your friends will never leave this island alive."

"Kofi!" Delilah exclaimed in a reproving tone. "That is no way to speak to our guest! He is here to help us, not harm our queen!"

"It's okay," Damion murmured to the elven woman in a placating tone. "He is only concerned for his queen's well being. That is an admirable trait, especially when you consider the circumstances." He gave the elf a reassuring smile. "Do not worry, my friend. We are here to help. No harm shall befall your queen while we are here."

The elf visibly relaxed. "That is heartening to hear. We need all of the help we can get right now." He gestured to the other elven soldiers, who quickly stepped aside to let them pass. "The queen is in the throne room. You should probably hurry. She has been eagerly awaiting news of your arrival."