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Chapter 56
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Ardwella was trying to talk to the black dragon again. She was feeling desperate.
"Esmarilla, please! The King said he was going to execute me! It's happening tomorrow morning! You need to return and get me out of here right now!"
"If I just go charging in, some good people will die. Most of those humans have been nothing but helpful to us."
"This isn't like you at all. You must honor the bond! What happens to me affects both of us!"
You should just let Lothinar work on the problem. We still have time. I'm sure it can be solved without resorting to more violence." said Esmarilla. "Lothinar and Candasar just left. He will solve this. He brought Ronni with him. She is the King's sister-in-law.”
"Esmarilla. You must realize that the Queen died! The King is furious!. Ronni will probably be angry too."
"You know that I didn't want that to happen. I was just doing as you told me and getting Albarad out of there."
"You need to get me out of here too!"
Lothinar suggested that I should stay here for now." Said the black dragon.
"Since when have you been listening to Lothinar over me?" she asked angrily.
There was a long silence. Ardwella tried a different tactic.
"Esmarilla, is Albarad is there with you right now?"
"Yes. Actually, he's in the house. I'm out by the barn. But he's here."
"Tell him I’m in big trouble. Please. I know he will come and save me!"
There was an awkward silence through the bond. Esmarilla was struggling to resist.
"You know the humans will certainly kill Albarad if he tries to save you right now? He will rush down there without a plan, and he will die! You are being very selfish!” Esmarilla said disappointedly.
"Not necessarily, Alberad is resourceful....” There was a pause. "I just heard voices outside my room... We' will continue this discussion later!” Ardwella cut the link.
Esrmailla looked at the bull across the pasture, sighed, and jumped into the air. She flapped her wings and headed out over the forest. Arguing with Ardwella always made her hungry. Deer again. Lothinar had better rescue his mother and hurry back soon, or that Bull's days were numbered. She wasn't going to allow herself to worry. Lothinar knew what he was doing.
Back In her room, Ardwella was panicking. She was pacing rapidly. She had worked up a sweat. She felt flushed. Her black dragon was too far away. Ardwella’s control over her was far too weak at this distance. Esmarilla was not coming. Ardwella suddenly realized that she was on her own.
The door creaked open. An old man's face was grinning at her. It was Womber, the priest, who had been caught embezzling from the temple. He leered at her.
"I could not help overhearing that the King has sentenced you to die in the morning for your many crimes," he said, gloating. "I will enjoy watching that. I was demoted and shamed because of you!."
”I didn't make you steal money from the temple.” Ardwella replied.
”The dragon hadn’t moved in hundreds of years. I suppose that I had lost faith it could ever happen. Besides, what would a dragon do with gold? It must have been you that actually cared about that.”
”You clearly don’t know much about dragons, do you? Don’t you have some old texts around here somewhere? Educate yourself.”
“Perhaps I shall. Now that real dragons are actually back, some of that information might once again be useful. It will be interesting to see if your dragon will come to save you. It should hurry! From what I’ve heard, I believe the king intends to follow through with your sentence.”
"As I told the King,” Ardwella retorted. “This whole thing is ridiculous. I was hit in the head. I was unconscious during the attack. Esmarilla acted without my control."
"We humans are having a hard time accepting that one of our revered dragons would behave such as yours did without elven outside influence," he smirked. "You must be able to understand this. The example of Tundor attacking Mavis is a recent example of that. As far as I know, no one is blaming Tundor.”
"It was a terrible accident. I told Esmarilla to always protect Albarad if she could. She took it too far. I explained all of this to the king."
"It does not explain why your husband attacked the priest and the king’s party. The horses ran right through the gathered assembly. Their were other injuries besides the men that died by dragon fire. The queen died as you probably know."
"Yes, that is very unfortunate and sad."
"Yet you still refuse to admit that you were involved in the situation?" he asked, raising a bush white eyebrow.
The beautiful elf did not answer but approached the old priest.
"I've seen you watching me," she said.
I was watching your sister, but Vanador put a stop to that.” The old priest admitted. “Both of you are quite lovely.”
Ardwella stepped up close to the old man, surprising him. She pulled him in, pressing herself against him."
"What are you doing? he said. “I’m complaining, but it is a surprise.”
The old priest suddenly belatedly remembered the warning all the guards had been given.
"Do not let her touch you," Starett had warned everyone.
Womber suddenly felt his pulse racing. She was so warm. Her fragrance was so sweet...
"Guards... " he managed to choke out. Then his eyes glazed over with lust. He no longer wanted anyone to interrupt them.
"You're so beautiful!" he said, staring at her with a twisted smile. "Even prettier than your sister."
"Now that I have your undivided attention, let's see how creative you are at getting me out of here," she said softly. "I'm sure you will find that the rewards are worth the risk."
Womber knew all of the secrets of the temple. He did know a way out. There were passageways and secret doors throughout the place. Nobody even saw them leave.
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Argent's troops were finally on the move. It was actually much easier when they were able to cut through all the delaying tactics that Mandel had placed in the way. The information Ardwynn had given had been right about that, at least. Unfortunately, his fifth son and general were not to be found. As his other sons had reexamined the evidence, it was quite clear that Mandel had been hindering them.
Subsequently, the city had been swept and Mandel and the Queen were found to be missing. Being discovered for what they actually were, they had fled. Argent regretted his mistake. How could he have allowed such a flagrant infiltration within his command structure? Talmadge had to be part of this treachery. The elf that had been his second in command also could not be found.
Argent had promoted his oldest son, Buscoe, to the position. Watching him now astride his horse, Argent could feel that his power was almost, but not quite equal to his own. He had lived far longer than a normal elven lifespan and was heavily augmented by the dragon eggs. Argent made a mental note to keep his eye on him. If he should turn on him as well, he would be a difficult adversary to defeat. That was especially true now that the dragon egg supply had dwindled and then stopped. That Argent might be considered paranoid never occurred to him. Everyone actually was actually out to get him.
Victory in such an internal conflict would probably come down to the judicious management of stored magical power. Each of the remaining generals commanded a Century group of one hundred mounted elite soldiers. All of them were chosen for their magic. Of course, none of the soldiers were dragon egg-enhanced. That was his family’s private little secret. Along with his own two hundred magical personal guards, that should be more than enough to crush this rebellion and return the lake and valuable eggs to his control. He was definitely feeling the need for them.
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Deep under Delora Natine in a dusty and partially collapsed tunnel, Ardwella followed the priest as he held up a candle to find his way through the darkness. The tunnel, Womber assured her, led to a secret exit near the lake,
At what she had to assume was approximately the halfway point in the tunnel, Ardwella was surprised to come upon a small alcove set back from the main passageway. In it, a strange blue light was glowing. It seemed to form a translucent barrier. She reached out a hand to touch it and got a little shock.
"Ow!" she yelled.
"Don't you know better than to touch things?” said Womber, who had pulled several yards ahead when she had stopped. He walked back, unfortunately leering at her a bit too long in the candlelight."
"Do you know what this is?" she asked. “This blue light?”
"It's been here longer than anyone in the priesthood can remember." The old man said. "My predecessor was a lot more curious about it than I am. Nobody has ever been able to get past it. Let’s move along. It’s not far now.” He wiggled his bushy eyebrows.
"Can we take a look? I've got a hunch about this..." Ardwella asked hopefully. The older man rolled his eyes.
"Look, this isn't a guided tour we are doing here," he said impatiently. "I told you I could get you out of the city. Then I expect to collect my reward."
"Why wait?" said Ardwella in a sultry voice, grabbing him and pulling him close. The priest was still holding the candle. He licked his lips and started to put his hands on her body. She let him. The candle he held was getting in the way. He quickly looked for a place to set it down. There was an old broken wheelbarrow near the alcove. The priest bent down to put the candle on it. When he did, Ardwella gave him a push from behind. He tumbled forward and screamed as he fell into the blue light. His body began writhing and jerking violently. Arcs of energy flashed. About a minute later, he finally became still. His clothes were smoking. The blue light stabilized. It looked just as it had before. Ardwella picked up the candle and stepped nearer to the translucent barrier. She touched it again, barely touching it this time.
"The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese," she said. "Open the barrier for me, Blizzard. It's Ardwella."
"THE PASSPHRASE HAS BEEN ACCEPTED," came a strange metallic voice.
The blue light of the barrier went out abruptly, leaving Ardwella holding the glowing candle in the dark. She stepped forward into the darkened space and held the candle high. She could see row upon rows of shelves. Hundreds of niches were covered with a soft straw material. Each niche held an individual dragon egg. She stepped forward to touch one. It felt warm. It was alive. She. moved through the shelves until she came to an open area in the center of the alcove.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"So, Father," she said. "That's what you were doing after the war. I wondered why no one could find you."
In a chair, sitting at a table in a space near the center of the alcove, was the mummified body of an elf. He looked dignified even in death. a blue sword was near his hand. Ardwella picked it up and used her dress to wipe off the dust.
She looked at the runes carved into the blue blade. It seemed familiar to read them once again.
BLIZZARD - SO THAT SOME MIGHT BE FROZEN IN TIME
Below the name inscription were the words of the spell that her father had taught her. The same spell that had used to save Esmarilla and Vanador from their own fire. This is how it all started. Her quest to save the dragons. A normal elf could cast a difficult spell on only a single creature. It took a lot of power. Using Blizzard her father had cast it on hundreds of dragon eggs.
"You did a good thing here, Blizzard,” Ardwella said as she slowly walked among the crowded shelves. There must be several hundred baby dragons here, All somehow stolen from right under Argent's nose. They were all perfectly preserved. It must have taken her father hundreds of years. “This will give the dragons a real chance at a future!"
"Esmarilla! You're not going to believe what I've found?" she sent to the black dragon. “I found dragon eggs! Hundreds of them!" That should get her down here," she thought to herself.
She was suddenly struck from behind. She fell forward and landed face-first, scraping her arm and elbow as she tried to catch herself and protect the baby. The candle flew forward and rolled to the side, miraculously not going out, its flame sputtering and smoking. The sword clattered to the ground and skidded away across the stone floor. Her attacker was Womber. Growling, he grabbed her and flipped her over. He was surprisingly strong. He smelled like smoke, and his partially melted and burned face was contorted in a strange mixture of lust and fury. He forced his mouth to hers. His lips were blistered and tasted like ashes. His bony fingers began working at her clothing. There was nothing she could do. She began to mentally prepare to pay the consequences.
His burned body was reducing his dexterity in undressing her. She continued to struggle, not making it any easier. She heard a rapid scratching sound coming from down the passageway. Something was coming toward them fast. The meager candle flickered in the breeze of something in motion. It fell, rolled over, and finally went out. The old man paused his attempts. He was listening as well. There was a strange high-pitched growl, and the disgraced priest was knocked from on top of her. He yelled something incoherent.
Ardwella scrambled to her feet, trying to distance herself from what was happening as Womber and his unknown assailant rolled around between the shelves in the dark. There was a small burst of red flame. It allowed Ardwella to see again. The flames came from the mouth of a small red dragon. The dragon fire hit Womber directly in the face. He screamed and began swatting at the fire that was consuming his beard and hair. There was no way his eyes would have survived that. Ardwella and the dragon watched him burn for a few more seconds. The small dragon turned towards her as Womber slumped after finally extinguishing himself and was hidden by the darkness once again. The smell of burned hair and flesh was awful.
The dragon spoke. “You are lucky I came along. I was trying to get to Lothinar but my wings still aren’t quite strong enough. I had to run, and then I realized this passageway would get me inside the city faster”
‘How did you know about the passageway?" Asked Ardwella.
A dragon that I know named Vanessa took shelter inside the lake end opening during a rain storm a while ago. She mentioned it. She said it went back a long way. I figured out the rest. It was a gamble, but I was in a hurry. I didn’t want to have to answer a lot of questions from the humans. Lothinar is in trouble, and, as usual, it’s your fault.”
”Why is it my fault?” Ardwella asked.
“Absolutely! You’re the one that made him so self-sacrificing and compliant, aren’t you, Ardwella? Candasar and I have to deal with that sort of thing far too often.”
"That seemed to work out pretty well for you, little dragon. I must assume that you are Firestorm.”
"Of course I am, and you are Ardwella, Lothinar’s mother. Regarding Lothinar overdoing it on me, It's not like I had a choice in the matter. I'm trying to help him and make the best of it. I got so much from Lothinar. Yes, It did work out well, now that you mention it. But doing the sort of things like resurrecting Queens is going to get him into a lot of trouble. People are going to start expecting it all the time! Worse trouble. I don't think you are going to like these last changes he just went through.
"He was created for desperate times.... " said Ardwella. "There are risks that need to be taken."
"What were you even doing down here? Why was that old man on top of you?" asked the little dragon.
"Trying to solve my own problems was also very risky it appears." said the beautiful elf.
"Nice find here, by the way," said Firestorm. "The eggs, I mean. Not the crispy old priest. It’s a good thing for you that I came along. Unless somehow you have an attraction for old men. I hope that I did the right thing there and didn't interrupt anything you were actually interested in...."
Ardwella shuddered and nodded. “No, thank you. You did the right thing"
Firestorm pondered for a few seconds. "Was that your doing too? Did you control him with your pheromones?"
"Finding these eggs changes things," Said Ardwella, not answering the question and reaching for the nub of the candle. She could see it in the light blue glow of the sword she had also just picked up.
She walked over to the old priest to make sure that this time he was actually finally dead. He was. She stuck the sword in him a few more times to make sure, but she did it without yielding to her urge to do it with undue enthusiasm. She didn’t want to make a bad first impression with this strange uncannily smart little red dragon.
“Would you mind lighting this candle for me? A bit less fire than last time."
The dragon produced a small flame from the tip of her snout. Ardwella lit the candle again.
"Thanks. she said. "Now, tell me what is going on with Lothinar.”
”No time for that now,” said Firestorm, turning and hustling away back up to the tunnel the way that Ardwella had just come from. “Lothinar just woke up. I have got to see this…”
Ardwella sighed and used the sword to reset the barrier.
“Raise the previous barrier. New password." “Firestorm,” she said.
”Firestorm accepted, “ said the metal voice.
Ardwella sighed.
If the king still insisted on killing her, then someone needed to be able to get back inside. To make sure that the dragon eggs waiting inside get a chance. Firestorm would probably be the one showing them the way. She began trudging back, following the speeding dragon the way that she had come. She would have to trust Lothinar too.
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“You interrupted our wedding vows by passing out Lothinar,” said Mavis looking down at him. "Ronni came running to find us. asking for help," Cantrell stood beside her. Lothinar realized that he was lying in a bed. It was the same bed that had recently held the hall elven queen. The sheets smelled a little smoky and had a faint hint of an exotic perfume.
“Hate to break it to you, but you’re a sight. It’s pretty shocking,” said Cantrell.
Mavis shoved him.
"Give him a minute at least!"
”Somebody had to tell him. I thought you would appreciate me saving you from the difficult task,” said Cantrell.
Lothinar groaned. “I’ve actually seen it.” He said, pointing to the mirror on the wall. “Just before I passed out. Where are Ronni and the Queen?”
”I think they are outside talking to the big blue dragon. Ronni is not happy,” said Mavis
”The king is ecstatic though,” said Cantrell. “Nice work there, by the way. Hard on the hair, though “
Mavis shoved him again.
“Hey! Is this what marriage is going to be like?” Cantrell asked.
”Don’t push your luck, buddy. We are actually not quite married yet. I could still change my mind.” Said Mavis smiling.
“Your mother somehow escaped.” Said Cantrell. “That has the whole town in an uproar. I heard someone say it was shortly after Womber went to visit her. Starett is pretty concerned about that.”
”He’s worried about Womber?’ Asked Lothinar, surprised.
”That man knows things. Starett doesn’t trust Womber. He may have been after revenge. But perhaps he just wanted to gloat at her misfortune. Your mother and Esmarilla exposed him after all.” said Cantrell.
‘’The Queen? She’s really ok?”
”Yes, she actually is. Although I heard Ronniflass telling her that she thought her ears were pointier. Did you give her more elf parts when Vanquish started giving you dragon parts?”
”I really don’t know. I was just the conduit.” Said Lothinar. “You’ll have to ask Vanquish.”
There was a very loud bumping sound behind a bookcase. Some books fell off.
“Lothinar! It’s me, Firestorm. Can you figure out how to open this secret door? There must be a switch somewhere.”
Cantrell walked over to the bookcase. He started pulling books out and putting them back. Mavis joined him. She was looking at a candle holder on the wall. She lifted a candle out. The whole bookcase swung around, leaving a very surprised little red dragon in the room and Cantrell behind the wall.
Lothinar decided that it was time to get out of bed. Firestorm had come over and was just staring at him.
"Oh my," the small dragon finally said.
Behind the bookcase in the tunnel, Cantrell was shouting in the dark.
"Put the Candle Back!"
Suddenly he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped. He turned around and looked in surprise as Ardwella stood there grinning at him. In her hand was a glowing blue sword.
"What are you doing here, Ardwella? Nice sword. Uh. Are you ok? You don't look too good." His eyes were not mocking. They looked genuinely concerned.
Ardwella realized that her clothing was torn and covered with soot and ashes. Her face must be filthy as well. The enormity of her recent experience washed over her. The terror of the King's sentence, Finding her dead father, and almost being raped. In spite of herself, she began to cry. Reflexively, Cantrell stepped forward, closing the space between them to an intimate level. Catching himself, He stopped just in time.
Abruptly the bookcase spun. Mavis stood there looking at the two of them. She frowned.
"Just what do you think you are doing with my husband Ardwella?
Ardwella's eyes, though, were fixed across the room on her son.
She walked over to him.
"You know, my son, I wish I still had a portrait of him to show you. Every day you seem to look more like your grandfather." She said, wiping her tears on her dirty sleeve.
"He's very handsome," agreed Firestorm. "For an elf. Obviously, I had nothing to worry about."
King Enderline and his half-elf, Queen Pricilla, walked into the room. Ronniflass followed them.
"We thought we would come and see how you..... Oh." The King tapered off. He seemed surprised to see Firestorm. His eyes moved over the room.
The King grimaced when he saw Adwella.
Queen Pricilla, however, showed no hesitation and came directly up to Lothinar. Ronni followed her and came to stand next to him too.
"I am sorry for my reaction to your appearance earlier. The big blue dragon explained to me what she did. She said that through you, she and Candasar were able to somehow revive me when all hope was lost! I wanted to thank you."
"Yes, Thank you mumbled the King. But I see Ardwella is here. While I was outside, I was able to speak with Tundor. His story is interesting. I have some questions about Ardwella's involvement in all of this. There are a few things that I do not understand about a bonded dragon's free will."
Ronni's eyes were wide as she looked at Lothinar again. Her gaze moved from the ridges on his bald head to his mismatched eyes. "What did those blue dragons do to you, Lothinar?" she asked.
"A red eye and a blue one. One for Candasar and one for me," said Firestorm appreciatively. I wonder if they give you special abilities? Vanquish really did a good job!"
Lothinar felt like he was starting to panic. Everyone had such different opinions and expectations.
Cantrell stepped up and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Beauty is in the eye or should I say, eyes of the beholder" he said. "Perhaps we should give Lothinar and his family a few minutes to sort this all out before we inundate them with questions. I think he has earned that"
"Do half sisters count because if they do, then I'm staying" said Mavis giving Ardwella a dirty look. "Yes stepmother. The cat is out of that bag. I know Arbarad is my father!"
"Mavis is my sister?"
"Lothinar! I want to see what Vanquish did to your head. Could you please come out here? sent Candisar.
"FREEZE" yelled Lothinar. He didn't intent to do it but the word came out as a magical spell. He felt a lot of power coming out of him. It was a spell that he didn't even realize that he knew. He realized that it was the same spell that lived on Blizzards Blade.
The force of the blast spread out like a huge rock had been dropped into a lake. Force of magic took hold of every living creature as it passed from the room Lothinar was in and out through the walls. Even the birds in the nearby trees stopped their singing and were frozen where they perched.
The room was completely silent. The people in it were as if frozen in time. Even Firestorm wasn't moving.
"Well that was something" said Ardwella as she walked around the people in the room to get near to her son. If I hadn't been holding this blade I would no doubt be as immobile as the rest of them.
Lothinar looked at the king. He was still scowling at the place in the room where Ardwella had been standing. Mavis was looking at the same place with a frown. Cantrell had his hands up in front of him, obviously trying to placate her.
"Well that shut everybody up" said Ardwella. "What do you want to do now my son?"
”I think I want to talk to Vanquish. Let’s head outside. But first…”
Lothinar reached over and touched Firestorm. She stumbled and almost fell before catching herself. She looked very surprised. "What happened?" she asked.
"My son is using spells that he didn't even know he any knowledge of." Said Ardwella. "Vanquish must have downloaded them directly into his brain. If I hadn’t been holding Blizzard here, I’m sure I’d look like the rest of them right now.”
”Just dirtier.” Said Firestorm with snark. “Rolling around in secret passageways fending off a rapist must be hard on your wardrobe.”
Ardwella sighed. “Yes, in my numerous experiences it always has been.”
Lothinar seemed to take that one in stride. I would think he would be more upset. Perhaps, thought Ardwella, Firestorm had already told him about it. He probably had guessed correctly about how she had attracted Womber. He probably knew about the eggs too, So much for breaking the big news.
“Lothinar must have a lot more power at his disposal than before.” Said Firestorm as they walked down the hallway and outside. "Everyone in the whole town is frozen"
"Everyone but Vanquish, it seems." Said Ardwella as they exited the gates. The blue dragon was just sitting there, just outside. She had not been frozen by Lothinar’s spell but she did look a little sleepy. She was watching them.
Lothinar walked up to Candasar, apparently caught in mid conversation with Tundor. It was good to see them together again. He touched her and she broke free of the spell that had held her. Twisting and looking around she ogled the sudden appearance of her bond.
“What happened? Why is everyone so still? She asked anxiously.
"What I did must have worked. Vanquish said to Candasar. Lothinar has finally come into his powers. That was an ambitious spell he just cast. The whole town was affected.”
“I didn’t mean to do this.” Said Lothinar. “I am going to have to be more careful. Someone could get hurt.”
Esmarilla passed overhead, made a hard turn and landed next to Vanquish. Albarad was on her back.
"What happened here? Esmarilla rumbled. I was flying in and felt a strange shockwave. It almost knocked me out of the air."
”See what I mean!” He cried.
Albarad jumped down off her back and gave Ardwella a huge hug. "I've missed you so much!" he said. But we have a big problem.
“What is it this time?” She asked.
Albarad’s eyes crinkled in worry. “The Emperor’s army is only a few hours away. They should be here before dark. They are riding some really beautiful horses. We won’t have to attack the horses will we?”
”I’m sorry but probably yes.” Said Vanquish. But we will try to minimize their losses. I prefer not to eat them. Cows are better. I think I saw a dairy when I was flying over here didn’t I?
“I agree! Said Esmarilla. I just finished a bull that was quite delicious”
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