Warrior of Duranbro...Part six..Chapter three

Part Six....The battle for Duranbro
Chapter three...The Battle begins

Getting over the mountain had not been easy and had taken longer than they thought it would. Keelagh had known that it would be a rough climb,especially for the horses even though there was a clear mountain path. It was very steep and in some places very precarious. Thankfully they hadn`t lost anyone though there had been a near miss halfway up when one of the horses had stumbled. Both horse and rider were safe though thanks to quick thinking and comradeship. Spirit had been surefooted and had led the way,his black mane flowing in the strong winds that beleagured them as they climbed higher. The brave Eagle Eli had been waiting for them and had made lazy circles in the sky as he waited for them to begin their climb. The descent had been just as tricky but here they were safe and sound on the other side and ready for the last leg of the journey towards Duranbro. Magryth and Bryntich had been waiting on the other side and Wraith had travelled at her side more sure footed than any horse the magnificent creature had travelled the mountain without any problems. Now he stood once again by her side. Since the battle in the forest he had never been more than a short distance from her always in sight and at night he lay beside her. They had told her how he had fought to protect her and how he would not leave her side despite being badly injured. She had grown to love the creature dearly and dreaded the day that he would once again want to be back off to the wild and his own kind.
Bryntich had watched the growing bond between Keelagh and the Wolf and he was pleased that this had happened he felt easier now at having to leave her to go with Argarth . He wanted to be at her side in the battle but knew that she had both Magryth and Wraith to protect her,and by the looks of things Paidrech too would be her champion if needs be. He would have to tell her soon of what he and Argarth planned to do he would have to tell her also that it was possible that he would not come back and that was the thing that weighed on him the most that he might never see her again,that their adventures might end here with this fight.

Argarth watched the soldiers of the advancing Army he had noted what they had, Dragon troops though not so many as theirs and all Red and green ones. They had other flying things though, smaller,winged beasts with long pointed faces and fangs. These he was not happy about though they wouldn`t bother the Dragon troops and would be easy to dispose of as they had no armour of scales as the Dragons had,they were dangerous. He had seen such things before and had noted then that they flew mainly in the dark,now they flew in the light more of the black ones magic no doubt. He would have to make sure he had his troops dispatch as many of these as they could before they could attack the Humans. The most worrying thing was what looked like a huge pack of black Wolves. They seemed to surround the army walking behind,in front and to the sides of the soldiers,they could do much damage for it was known how ferocious Wolves were when protecting their leader. He thought now he saw a pattern emerging. The only way to fight the Wolves and prevent them from attacking the Army would be with fire,the only way to dispatch the flying beats would be with the Dragon troops. If the Troops were fighting both these things it would be less of them to fight the Enemy Dragon troops. He would have to ensure that this did not happen but he didn`t have much time. Wheeling away from his vantage point,safe in the knowledge that not even the Dark Wizard could detect him he flew back to Duranbro to put his plan into action.

Keelagh sat on the Stone and looked at Bryntich there were tears in her eyes as she took in all he had told her. She couldn`t believe that she would be without him at her side but she understood what he had to do and why. He had taken her away from the others so they could talk he had told her that though Magryth knew noone else did or could know not yet. Once the fighting started it wouldn`t matter for by then their own battle would have begun. “ How long have you known? “ she asked him more for something to say than because she really wanted to know,it made no difference really to the outcome of the battle. “ We had suspicions for some time but we wanted to be wrong,Argarth is the one that discovered the truth,the one that pieced it together “ he sighed and her heart went out to him he looked so sad. “ There is no chance you …He .. could be wrong? “
“ No Keelagh,he is not wrong I too have seen for myself the evidence and it has been so hard,keeping this between us. There was no choice of course, everything would have been lost had we spoken before”
“ I don’t want to lose you Bryntich” she whispered trying hard to be the strong brave warrior that she was supposed to be
“ I shall be forever there Keelagh,no matter what happens, Always I will be with you trying in my inept way to guide you. You have to be strong now,and you have Magryth to protect you and Wraith. And Spirit to ride into battle. I wish it could be different Keelagh but Argarth and I are the only ones that can do this “
“ Yes I understand Bryn,but that doesn`t mean I have to like it “
“ No Keely it doesn`t” he answered softly.
Paidrech watched Keelagh talking to the Dragon he knew that something was going on,but he could only read one side of the conversation and that was her side. He had developed many years ago the skill of being to read what people were saying by their lip movements,unfortunately he hadn`t been able to adapt this to Dragons. So Bryntich was leaving them to fight some battle of his own,this perturbed him what could possibly be more important than the battle to come? He looked around to see if he could find the Unicorn maybe he could find out from him what it was that was more important than the battle with the Dark Wizards forces. Magryth was grazing some way from the rest of them,it still caught Paidrech by surprise when he saw him behaving like a mortal horse,but he supposed that even Unicorns magical as they were had to eat. He crossed to the Unicorn and began to question him about what was going on with the Dragons.

The day dawned cold and bright,when the sun had first risen there had been a mist and Myriad was afraid it meant the Dragons would be grounded but it had cleared and the advancing enemy were clearly seen across the pastures. They were here outside the gates of the great city sitting astride their magnificent horses waiting for the battle to commence not knowing what would be thrown at them first. A lone rider came galloping across the plain his white flag fluttering in the breeze. Myriad and Zargrith rode forward to meet him. They could not see his face as he drew level with them,his visor was built so they could see nothing but the blackness of the visor that protected his face. He handed them a scroll and Myriad opened it and read the words
‘ Surrender now before blood is shed and your lives may be spared‘ she smiled a cold smile,and looked at the Rider “ Tell your leader the answer is No,if he wants Duranbro then he will have to fight for it “ The Rider bowed his head to her and turned and rode back. He had not got half way across before the wolves began to run forward. The Dark Wizard had known that there would be no surrender. Myriad and Zargrith gave a signal and and two Huge Dragons flew down and breathed fire across the land in front of them igniting the oil in the ditch that they had dug that night,Argarth had wasted no time in preparing the defences against the Wolves. A huge canopy of Flame sprung up the length of the city walls with the Army safe behind it and the Wolves stopped,they milled about for a few moments unsure what they were to do and then turned and ran back to the Dark Wizards call. The flames were but a respite they would only last as long as the oil burned but it was a good start as the Wolves would be unsure that it would not happen again. Suddenly the air was filled with flying creatures that flew high over the flames and then went to swoop down on the troops. Again Argarth had been well prepared and Arrows flew from the city walls as Dragons swooped in to dispose of this wave of the enemy. The Dragons came then sensing an easy vistory as the Duranbro Dragons were busy with the beasts,but As soon as they cleared the flames they were met with more from the City and the battle of the skies began. The flames began to die down and as they did the horsemen galloped across the plain. The army of Duranbro went to meet them.