Dragons Descended Upon the Wicked (3 page)

There was a moment of pause. Jeffrey had to control his breathing. He had to appear strong in front of them. He couldn’t show weakness.

“Yesterday I lost a brother. His name was Reed Cambell. He was a king’s men. He served the king and wore the gold armor for our country. He was one of the finest soldiers I ever had the privilege of leading. He was one of the kindest and most full-hearted people I ever got to know. He put his life on the line for us and I will be forever grateful.”

A moment of silence was given for Reed. The echoes of the wind within the confines of the north bend was all that could be heard.

“We lost three more soldiers yesterday. They fought for our purpose and paid the ultimate price. For that I am eternally grateful. I did not know them personally, but I hold them in the highest regard. I know they put their hearts on the line for us. They listened to my command and were a vital part of saving more innocent lives from being lost. Three Reza, two young men, and one older woman. Jack Klint, Zachary Telcham, and Victoria Belmont. Let us bow our heads and give our fallen a moment of silence.”

The dead deserved to be given a ceremony for the life they lived and to be properly buried. Jeffrey had known he would have to do such of a thing when the war finally came. He did not expect to be doing it because of hungry detath.

The bodies were buried under the ground six feet deep. An array of intricate and beautiful rocks were collected and placed upon each grave to represent and mark the grave.

The demoralized king’s men gathered around. They placed their arms on each other’s backs and formed a huddle.

“Reed would want us to move forward,” said Jeffrey. “We have to do what’s best for the camp. We have to start and end this war on our terms.”

“Agreed,” said Dani.

“Agreed,” said the rest of the king’s men.

“The six will die in the name of Reed Cambell. The six will be stopped in the name of all of those who have been tormented by their rule. This is only the beginning of their torment and look at how many lives they have destroyed. We will end it all when the time is right.”

“Agreed,” said the king’s men in unison.

“Andrew and Thomas will leave for Terrel early in the morning,” said Jeffrey. “We have no time to wait for Nick. They journey will be long, but I believe in the cause. I only hope that Lord Senvot will be equally as gracious.”

Rain started coming down upon the camp. It started with a few drops that quickly turned into a storm’s worth of water.

“Get all the firewood under the rock overhead,” said Jeffrey. “It looks like it’s going to be a long night.”

As night fell the thousands were huddled in tightly together. Several fires were kept alive despite the few specks of rain that made it past the cover of the giant boulder, thanks to the courteous effects of the wind.

Cold, damp, and hungry. The camp would see much more of the same types of nights as winter’s full fury came upon them in a few weeks time, unless their situation changed for the better.

CHAPTER THREE

Rain pummeled Nick’s face. He rode on top of the white dragon in search of his camp. The downpour made visibility very poor. He could only see the outline of the mountain they rode towards while his eyes faced an onslaught of water.

Riding in the rain is not something I’d like to get used to. Why can’t the weather be on my side for once?

As he approached the mountain, he set his eyes downward to look at the formation of the forest. He looked left, then right. From the bottom to the top. He searched for it, then he finally found it: the point of the forest. The very top of the forest where he learned his final power. The part where the forest stopped and the north bend began. That was where his home was.

“Kez,” said Nick, directing the dragon to fly right.

He straightened out the dragon’s course and before he knew it he was at the edge of the north bend. Rain and wind bounced off the white dragon’s scales. Its wings made a loud swishing sound as Nick directed the dragon to land. He had made it back safely.

Nick heard shouting and screaming as he descended towards camp on top of the white dragon. Its wingspan did not fit between the walls of the north bend so it had to descend length wise; north to south.

“It’s alright!” shouted Nick. “It’s only me! The white dragon will not harm anyone!”

The dragon clasped its claws on the rock ridden ground. Nick jumped off the white dragon to be greeted by men and women pointing their weapons at Nick and the dragon.

“Lower your weapons,” said Jeffrey.

He walked over and rubbed Nick on the head.

“Looks a bit different than the dragon you rode out of here on; it looks a bit smaller,” said Ron.

“He will not harm any of you,” said Nick as he looked at the terrified faces around him. “It’s a long story but I have found a dragon that is meant to be with me through my blood. It is an extension of me and will do only as I command. It is here to protect us and help us progress in our journey.”

The crowd of people began to walk back into camp. Some were convinced of Nick’s short speech while others were still skeptical of the dragon. They held onto their weapons or kept them close. No one could blame them, though. Dragons have been considered as mindless bringers of death for centuries.

Nick walked back into camp and gathered the king’s men and those vital to the mission around him. He told them about his flight to the dragons’ lair and how he came to be with the white dragon. Explaining Dricos’ theory about supreme Rezas and their connection with dragons was both uplifting and troubling to his comrades.

After he described the events of the past day they moved on to the pressing subject of Terrel.

“I can get us there in a few hours if you climb on the dragon,” said Nick.

“There is no way I will be riding that beast,” said Thomas.

“You have to trust me, Thomas,” said Nick. “He will bring no harm to you or anyone else, for that matter.”

“I feel like I am the one thinking rationally here,” said Thomas. “How can you be so confident in what the dragon will do after only being with it for a few hours?”

“I believe in what Nick says,” said Andrew. “I’ll ride with you come morning sun.”

“It is a leap of faith, there is no doubt,” said Nick. “But this will be the most effective way to get to Terrel. If we go there and back we will have a chance to have the whole camp inside the city before winter comes.”

Everyone looked at young Thomas for his answer. Thomas was the most vital part in the attempt to convince Lord Senvot of their plan.

“Fine,” said Thomas after a long pause. “I will ride with you. If worst comes to worse, death by dragon is not the worst way to go.”

The camp was tired. Less food meant more sleep and less strenuous activity. The king’s men made their way to bed as did Nick. He was accompanied by Penny. He placed his hands upon her face. Her soft and delicate skin reminded him of the love he had for her. It was a moment where no words needed to be said. He knew she was grateful for his safety. She knew he was grateful for her comfort. They held each other closely for quite a while.

The silence finally broke as Penny whispered, “I’m sorry if I blamed you for my parents.”

“I understood the anger you were battling with,” said Nick. “There is no reason to be sorry. Everything is going to be alright soon. I have to take care of some important things tomorrow. I promise you will be in my arms again come nightfall.”

Nick kissed Penny on her forehead and closed his eyes. Sleep was an escape from the cold and rainy night.

***

Nick hopped onto the back of the white dragon. Thomas soon followed Nick’s steps of climbing on its wing and hoisting himself up. Andrew was the last to approach the dragon and make his way on top of its back. Nick and Thomas helped hoist the older Reza man up onto the dragon.

The three men made their way to the base of the dragon’s neck where there was plenty of space for them to sit.

“The best advice I can give you two is to hold on tight,” said Nick.

“There not much to hang onto,” said Thomas.

“Hold onto me as if we were riding a horse,” said Nick. “Andrew will then hold onto you.”

“What exactly will you be holding on to, young Nick?” asked Andrew.

“These two spikes here,” replied Nick. “They are the perfect height and in the perfect placement for a rider of my height. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

Andrew chuckled a bit before grabbing hold of Thomas by the waist. Thomas exhaled deeply, then wrapped his hands around Nick’s waist. The whole camp was standing up and looking at the three men as they sat on top of the dragon. They looked eager to see the dragon take flight.

Nick leaned down close to the dragon’s face and said, “Silner.”

The white dragon spread its massive wings and flapped them. A gust of wind and dust flew at the thousands who gazed upon the men. Within seconds the dragon had made it over the top of the edge of the north bend’s walls.

“Oh my!” shouted Thomas.

“Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!” shouted Andrew.

Nick smiled as the dragon elevated in altitude and his friends were in shock.

Finally, the dragon leveled out and flew straight. Sunlight was just peeking out towards the east of the men. Birds in the distance suddenly flew into the opposite direction. The loud gust of wind rushed through the men’s ears.

“Look at how small it all looks!” yelled Andrew. “It’s beautiful up here!”

“It truly is!” yelled Nick.

Nick pointed his finger towards the northwest and yelled, “That’s where we are headed! Terrel should be just beyond those mountains in the distance!”

The great Oron Sea was to their left. It looked like such of a vast expansion of calm blue water from where they were in the sky. The wind grabbed the clothes they wore. Flying was a delight to their senses.

After an hour of flying towards the mountains in the north of Terrel Country they began their final approach. The base of the mountain was getting nearer and nearer as the seconds passed by.

“Terrel City should be tucked in behind the mountains here!” shouted Andrew.

The white dragon flew towards the highest peak of the mountain. It then flew past the peak only ten feet above it, which caused some amounts of ice and snow to whish off the peak. The view of the other side of the mountain was revealed to the three men.

Terrel was an enormous city. It rested in the shadow of the tall mountain. Its city’s walls stretched from north to south, east to west, as far as their eyes could see. Thousands upon thousands of people resided in that city. It was larger than all of Hentrio’s cities put together.

Nick directed the dragon to land a mile away from the main gate. They did not want to incite panic, although some guards surely saw the giant white dragon fly near the city. They landed safely behind an array of tall and abundant trees.

One by one the men descended from the dragon and began walking towards the gate. As they got nearer Nick could see the walls of the city that Terrel was known for. They stretched high into the sky several hundred feet. The founders had wanted to make Terrel impenetrable from any army.
An army would have to be really smart to get over these walls
, thought Nick. Tall sandstone walls stretched and surrounded the entire city.

They were now only a few hundred feet from the main gate.

“Let me do the talking at first,” said Andrew.

“Agreed,” said Nick.

“We will judge how things are going and talk when needed,” said Thomas.

Nick’s heart began to race faster. His heart rate was calm when he flew, but now that he was in front of the unknown he was nervous. The lives of thousands rested on them. It felt like the weight of the world wanted to crumble and crash on Nick as he walked towards the gate, but the world was still hanging on by a single thread. Before they knew it they stood in front of the tall fifty-foot steel gate.

Guards were perched on top of the gate on a small balcony. Their armor looked unusual to Nick. He had only seen how Refect dressed. These guards wore dark metal armor and massive spikes protruded from the helmet and shoulder pieces.

“Who stands at our gate?” asked a guard who moved himself to hunch over the balcony.

“Friends from Hentrio,” said Andrew.

“It’ll be the day when we consider anyone friends who hail from Hentrio,” replied the guard. “What is it that you are standing at my gate?”

“We wish to speak to Lord Senvot,” said Andrew.

The guard started to laugh uncontrollably. Nick heard his loud laugh as if the man was standing one foot in front of him.

He finally stopped laughing and caught his breath.

“Turn around and be on your way; no one sees our leader,” said the guard.

“I saw him only a few months ago,” said Thomas. “We are here because of two things. One of those reasons is for the safety of Terrel.”

“And what is this other thing you talk about?” asked the guard.

“The other will be discussed with Lord Senvot in person,” said Thomas.

“What is your name, young boy?” asked the guard.

“Thomas Bell. Tell Lord Senvot my name if you wish. I’m sure that he will remember me.”

The guard moved from the men’s sight and walked from the balcony towards the city.

There followed few minutes of silence. Nick, Thomas, and Andrew looked up at the balcony for any kind of movement, for any kind of sign. The silence was broken with the sound of chain being pulled. The gate was starting to rise off of the ground.

The guard leaned back over the balcony and said, “Place all of your weapons in the bags before you come in. Put on the white gloves. Then we can proceed.”

The gate rose about half way before the chain stopped being pulled. The three men walked into the city and were greeted by three more armored men, each holding a tan bag made of animal skin. They looked at each other and nodded. They threw their swords, daggers, and bows and arrows into the bags. They were handed white gloves by the guards and slipped them on.

“Follow us,” said the guard.

They walked through the busy city streets. One guard lead the way while two guards walked behind them. The city was much different than what Nick anticipated to see. It was so well maintained, organized, and beautiful to look at. There were not thousand of homeless people lying in the streets. The houses and buildings were made of both clay and stone, and were sculpted and well taken care of. The buildings were not dirty and falling apart.