Part six...The Battle for Duranbro
Chapter four...Each to his own
Part two
Part two
He hurried to the steps,he had made his way through the city dodging the fire falling from the sky and now he had but to open the doors and the secret way to the cavern and his plan would be almost done. They hadn`t missed him when the battle had started and he had sneaked back through the ranks and back into the City. He no longer moved with the lighthearted sureness he had been displaying for weeks. Things had started to go wrong,first the Prince had appeared. He that should have been dead these last six years,the one he had believed dead. And he was sure that Kenlyth knew he was the one but that mattered not for there was nothing he could do now,he was out there protecting his beloved Queen and her consort. He reached the Hall and hurried through the corridors and down steps and more corridors,he had the feeling of time pressing an urgency he hadn`t felt before. He hadn`t known about the ditch of oil,they had been counting on the Wolves to do their damage but it mattered not for now the fire was gone and the battle in full swing and the Wolves would be sent forth again. He had reached the farthest door and as he went to open it he heard a step behind him. He turned and there stood Anton. Smiling arrogant Anton,Weak palsied Anton who had not been able to join the battle because he was a cripple. He felt the sneer on his face as he noticed the sword that Anton wore strapped round his middle. “ Why Anton,” He mused sneeringly “ You look as if you are prepared for battle,should you not be neath the great hall with all the other weak and crippled old men?” Anton just smiled that lazy smile. “ And were you not out with the strong able bodied ones protecting this fair city and its fairer Queen” He replied placing his head on one side and watching the counsellor “ Why be on the losing side?” he watched Antons face closely,no surprise,no shock or horror. Just that lazy smile that he always wore. “ You know Garth,that I will not allow you to open that door? “ Anton said slowly. Garth laughed,a short hard laugh “ You a cripple! Seek to stop me the best swordsman in the counsell?” he spat jeeringly. Anton continued his lazy smile. “ You know Garth the thing about having been born with one leg shorter than the other is that you adapt your body to the disadvantages and turn them to your advantage,I was not left in the city because I could not fight,but because I could” And the smile widened as his hand closed round the hilt of the sword.
All around him he saw only the Mists of darkness,he cared not it had been this way for many years now. He saw the battle not with his eyes but with his mind as he stood concentrating on keeping the Dragons and Wolves and Soldiers under his Will. Of late there had been something niggling in his mind,something he feared he had forgot,not accounted for.But,he would let nothing stop his endeavour to reach the Eggs. Even if he could not prevent the new Queen from being born she would be born into his power,his to command and he would make her dark like him,as he had been made so long ago. There was a humming in the air around him,like something was trying to break his concentration,but he was stronger than that and they could not reach him. Even those little flashes he had been getting of a life that he didn`t remember ever having could not stop him. Now the Wolves would go and wreak havoc and when all was done he would have his victory,and she would have hers.
They had been fighting for awhile and Zargrith knew the soldiers would be getting weary. The battle in the skies was being won to their advantage though and hopefully the Dragons would soon be free to come to the aid of the ground forces. He looked across the plains in a brief respite and saw the chilling sight of the Wolves once again speeding across the plain towards them. And behind them though still distant another wave of soldiers. They would be outnumbered and with the Wolves too he could see no way of winning this battle. He looked acrosss at Myriad. In this moment she looked as he remembered her years ago,hair flowing, face glowing from the battle, eyes flashing. He wanted to tell her to turn and ride back to Duranbro and stay within the city walls untill Paidrech and Keelagh arrived with what he hoped would be reinforcements. But he knew she would not.He only hoped that if the worst were to happen that he would be struck down first because he would not be able to bear seeing her taken from him this way. He felt a movement by him and realised he was surrounded by three Damn he had let his concentration waver and as he glanced back he saw Myriad was trapped too with one coming up behind..
The Swords clashed and clattered and the sound echoed through the hallway. Anton was good but not fast enough and he had managed to wound him slightly. He feigned now and went for the crippled leg,if you couldn`t win fairly then cheat was his motto. He hit the leg hard with the butt of his dagger and Anton began to go down,his bad leg giving way before the assault. Garth raised his sword high for the killing blow. A chilling howl reverberated through the corridors sending ice cold shivers down his spine and making him hesitate just long enough for Anton to swing his sword up and into his midriff,hot pain shot through him and he staggered forward but as he did he dealt Anton a viscious blow to the head with the hilt of his sword. He fell silently and did not move. Garth fell against the wall a red mist now in front of his eyes. The door he had to reach the door. And he staggered forward to the door and pulled it open. Staggering through he found the steps down to the passage way that led to the walls of the city and there would be troops waiting to enter the city.
The Darkness swirled and eddied around him he was serene and the Wolves were going forward now to do their job and he could see that the Queen and her Prince were about to be despatched and that would take the heart from the Duranbro soldiers. Then a long Chilling Howl swept across the plains and just for a moment the Darkness dissapeared and was filled instead with Golden light. He shook his head and concentrated once more on the Wolves and the soldiers and the Dragons,no he had lost the Dragons. It mattered not they were being defeated anyway. The Wolves were becoming harder to hold.
He opened his mouth to call to her to be careful watch out when the Howl went out across the plain and the soldiers stopped,suddenly looking confused and bewildered,he didn`t hesitate and cut all three down he turned to see that Myriad too had taken advantage of the strange behaviour and now they galloped towards each other waiting for the Wolves to come,but then a second Howl went out and the Wolves turned towards the far hill. He looked and there stood in splendour against the sky was the biggest white Wolf that he had ever seen. He hoped fervently that the Wolf was not an enemy. As he watched the huge creature shot down the hill howling again. The Black Wolves ran towards him and as he passed through them turned and followed. His heart was in his mouth untill he saw the Wolf lead them away from them and across to where the new wave of soldiers were now galloping towards them. He saw too the small but very welcome band of soldiers following the Wolf. And he knew that Paidrech had come at last.
The second Howl split his darkness into splinters and made his ears hurt. No stop it he wanted to shout but could not,he struggled with the will of the Wolves. There could be nothing stronger than he.He commanded,he would have to let go of the soldiers for a moment to win back the Wolves and as he did the third howl went out and the link was gone. His Darkness was fracturing around him,he was losing the soldiers,no he had to keep them,Where am I? The soldiers he still had them,he could still do this, Who am I? no go away!! He lifted his hands to his head and grasped it tight to make himself concentrate. And then another light began to force its way past his closed eyelids,forcing him to open them. And his last tenuous link with the battle dissapeared.
They had found the turn off and left the horses there in a place where they would be safe but also so they could escape if need be. They headed now towards the golden light at the end of the long tunnel they were in. They could hear nothing untill they had almost reached the entrance to the giant cavern,and then they could hear the sound of voices from within. Paidrech signalled her to move close against the wall and so it was they sneaked into the cavern rather than walked in and so were undetected by the ones in there. The sight they saw at first pleased and then chilled Keelagh and for a moment left her bewildered, Bryntich and Argarth both were there,and she wanted to call him so pleased was she to see him but when she heard the words that Argarth spoke her pleasure turned to dismay. Surely Bryn and he could not be the traitors, Her precious Bryn could not be the one that would be responsible for the downfall of Duranbro.She listened closer. And as they spoke she understood. In the middle of the lake was a burning ship,dead men lay strewn around the cavern as rag dolls tossed by an angry child.Goltech was on the other side her mighty head raised and looking in disdain first at one Dragon and then at the other.
“ You are both fools” she said to them in a cold angry voice. “ You cannot defeat me either singurlarly or together”
“ We will not allow you to do this Goltech” Argarth spoke calmly but with great strength in his voice. She gave him a cold look and turned to Bryntich “ Why do you follow this one to your doom?” she asked him hissingly. Bryntich raised his head and looked at her defiantly “ When the future of all you hold dear is in danger,you will try to amend it” he answered her “ I..AM…THE…FUTURE!!” she boomed out across the cavern . The whole mountain shook and rocks tumbled and splashed into the lake.Keelagh and Paidrech had to cover their ears and hope the rocks didn`t hit them. They looked at each other,now they understood what they had to do and without hesitating started to make their way round the cavern behind the rocks towards where Goltech stood in front of the entrance to the cavern where lay the eggs.
“ We will not allow you to do this” Argarth told her
“ YOU, will not allow, WHO are YOU that thinks they can stop ME ? This is MY world “ Argarth realised in that moment that the Queen had truly gone mad,there was no Dragon code left inside her mind only her power,her might and what she percieved as hers the rule of all Dragons and creatures of the World. “ Then we shall do what we must Goltech for we will not allow you to harm the Humans” Argarth said coldly. Goltech narrowed her eyes and looked from one to the other,as she did she caught a movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head towards it. Keelagh and Paidrech had made their way round and they had just the space between the last rock and the entrance to cross but it was open and as they tried to sneak along the wall the Great Dragon had caught their movements. Before the Great Dragon could release the fire that would reduce them to ashes Argarth released his at her. She turned and in one movement jumped up with such speed that the two Humans were left gaping after her. Up towards the roof of the cavern,but she did not stop, she broke through the rock and continued to climb straight up through the mountain, rocks tumbling and crashing in to the cavern below, Argarth and Bryntich without hesitation followed her. Paidrech pulled Keelagh into the mouth of the tunnel leading to the eggs just before a huge rock fell in the place she was standing. Rocks hit the burned out boat and sank it in the middle of the lake and they saw what looked like shells belonging to what had been Dragon eggs,Keelagh began to wonder if they were not already too late. As they watched the burning boat sink they saw the prow of another boat coming through the entrance to the tunnel that the lake flowed through,they came back out into the cavern and watched the boat emerge. As it came forward slowly,the few men left on the oars rowing tiredly she saw Kaliq stood with sword in hand. She noted the eggs on the boat and how there seemed to be many more than the boat could hold. Kaliq was dirty and bruised and bleeding but he was alive though he looked weary. He saw Keelagh and he waved his sword leaping over the side of the boat and swimming towards her till he got to the shallow water where he stood and despite his obvious weariness,he smiled “ We got some of them through Keelagh,though we lost many men and some eggs “
“ Its not over yet Kaliq” she said quietly. She turned and looked towards Paidrech,he was looking up at what used to be the roof of the cavern and was now a great hole through which you could see the sky. “Paidrech we must go to the eggs” she said and he looked back at her. “ Yes lets go” and he turned and set off up the tunnel. Keelagh and Kaliq followed him and before they got to the turning into the cavern they heard the sound of swords clashing. They quickened their pace now and emerged into the large cavern where the eggs lay ready for the Hatching. There were soldiers she hadn`t seen before stood in front of the eggs fighting with soldiers the kind she had seen on the battle field “ They are Zargriths men” Paidrech said as he ran forward with his sword raised to join in the frey. Keelagh and Kaliq joined him and soon they had the soldiers backing down the tunnel. The soldiers seemed to be losing their will to fight backing off quite easily. And as they forced them down the tunnel she saw why. There coming round the lake towards them were what seemed to be at least a hundred of the beasts from beyond the mountain. They had no place to go but back to the chamber where effectively they would be trapped.
