The day came at last. The troops had arrived the day before and were now preparing to march to the castle. It was still two weeks away, but they were ready for anything, or so they hoped.
“Have you made arrangements for Jabin?” Tiernan asked.
“I was thinking he could go with us. When we get close to the castle, the army camp will have to be left some distance behind. The cooks will all stay at camp because they’re not physically able to fight, so Jabin could stay with them while we’re at battle.”
“Do you really think he will stay with the cooks when he could sneak off and join the fight? You’ve been showing him how to use a sword, so he’ll want to prove himself to you; and what better way to do that than in battle?” Tiernan hoped he would see how bad of an idea it was to take the boy with them.
“I did think about that. What’s to stop him from leaving the city and following us? If we take him with us, we can keep him safe on our journey. Once we’re ready to leave for battle Culfang, or Rowena, can cast a sleeping spell on him. If he’s asleep he won’t be able to follow us.”
“Sounds like you’ve thought it through.”
“I have, and I think it’s the best way to keep him safe.”
“Have you talked with Valeris about your plan?”
“I did; she felt the same as you until she took some time to think it over. Now she understands, and she’s going along with it.” He was glad that she had finally come around to seeing things his way.
“Alright, I just hope something doesn’t happen to him.”
“So, Tiernan, have you tried to talk to your scout friend again?” Arden asked, ending the subject of Jabin.
“I did, but now that the troops are here she stays around her father. Any time I try to get close to her, he growls at me, literally. I think the man may be crazy.”
“I doubt he’s crazy. It sounds like he’s just overprotective of his daughter. So what are you going to do about it?”
“I’m going on scout duty. I think that’s the only way I’ll get her alone.”
“That just might work.”
“In fact, I had better be heading out.”
“Good luck, my friend, I think you’re going to need it.” They shook hands and went their separate ways.
The giant showed up with his friends. The troops were told to expect them and not to attack. Even knowing they would be there didn’t make it much easier when they did arrive. Many wouldn’t take their eyes from them for fear of attack. They had also been told that their unease would pass after a few days. None of them believed it of course.
Selwyn and the other waited for the troops to move before they started out. They were in the front of the army and were joined by the generals. Arden was having a hard time with the Seahold general so close by. He wanted to pull the man from his horse and beat him to a pulp, and then let Jabin take a few swings, or kicks. He and Jabin moved as far away from the man as they could while still staying in the front. He never talked to Selwyn about using one of his abandon towers, but maybe it would be better if he didn’t know, if he went through with it. He already told Jabin to stay by his side, and stay in his sight. Jabin didn’t seem to have a problem with that, he was just happy to be going along.
The old road that used to run from Dendra to the castle was so overgrown that it was barely visible. Some of the troops had to clear the underbrush to allow the wagons to get through, but otherwise there were little problems traversing the road. From time to time, they would pass ruins on the side: old outposts, homes, stores and who knew what else.
Rowena couldn’t help but notice the wildflowers. They seemed to be everywhere she looked. She recognized a number of them from the book Culfang had given her. She could even name most of the ones she recognized.
As they rode Culfang noticed Rylan reading his book of beasts. He rode up next to him to ask something he wasn’t sure he wanted to. If he did it would give them an advantage, but it would also give Rowena more power. She was still learning how to use The Deck of Mokelbel and how to cast spells without the deck. This would be one more thing he would have to ask her to learn.
“Rylan, I was wondering if Rowena could have a look at your book?” Culfang didn’t really need to ask. He could simply tell him to and he would, but he didn’t want to get it that way.
“I would, but I’m reading it. Selwyn isn’t using his. I’m sure he would be happy to hand his over.” Rylan knew it was going to be a long trip and didn’t want to give up the only distraction he had.
“Yes, of course,” Culfang rode over to Selwyn and asked him the same question. Selwyn was more than happy to hand it over, just as Rylan had said. He then rode over to Rowena.
“Rowena, I would like you to take this book and look through it.” He handed her Selwyn’s book of beasts.
“Alright, may I ask why?” He got as close to her as he could.
“With The Deck of Mokelbel you can summon creatures. This will give you a good idea of what you can call to you. Not all the monsters will come, but the ones that do you can control.”
“That does sound like it could be a big help.” She set herself to study it right then.
Osric continued to show Rowena how to fight with her staff, and Ril’dar soon filled her head with images of places he had been throughout his long life. He also showed her what Zarail castle had once looked like.
Arden continued Jabin’s lessons with the sword, and Valeris even joined in to show him a few things she knew. Valeris also noticed the two of them whispering and pointing a lot. They seemed to be curious about some of the soldiers. She didn’t know why they would be interested in soldiers, except maybe for sparring. Arden hadn’t told her of the troops and the general because he knew they would soon be among them. He was having Jabin point out all the soldiers who hurt him. He wanted to know who to look for after the battle. He wanted to know who it was he was going to punish.
Selwyn would ride ahead most days. Not so much to scout, but because he wanted to see his kingdom-to-be by himself. He talked Edred and Wayland into go with him a few times. Even though he liked to be by himself most of the time, he also wanted to share the experience with his father. He wanted Wayland to join them because this was all happening because of him. He was the one who had told him of his heritage and of his birthright.
Tiernan came back to the main group after a couple of days. He wasn’t getting anywhere with his obsession. In fact, she was beginning to rub him the wrong way.
“I think you should give up on this one,” Arden and Valeris both told him. He resisted at first, but he finally gave in. He would do his best not to think of her.
Thryth was having a grand time. He would run over to any ruins and dig around just to see what he might find. He was really interested in seeing if he could find evidence to show if the dwarves had built any of the buildings they were passing. He even dug up some of the stones that paved the rode to see if it had been built by his kin. But what surprised everyone, including himself, was the new friend he made. It was the giant they had spared.
When they would stop for the night Thryth would go to the back of the camp to get ale, or mead, or whatever was available, and that was where the giant and his friends stayed; guarding the rear from attack.
“What are you looking at you great, big buffoon?” Thryth asked on the first night. He was already feeling the effects of the ale he had drunk when he saw the giant watching him.
“I’m looking at you. I have heard of your people all my life, but you are the first I have met.”
“And what have you heard?”
“I have heard your people are the best stone masons and gem cutters. I’ve also heard your people can forge great weapons.”
“I can’t argue with you there.” Thryth wanted to hate this giant, but after compliments like that, it was hard to, and that started their friendship.
The days went by faster than Selwyn thought they would. He figured it had to do, in part, with them not being attacked, at all. Their group was large and scared off any would-be foes. Then one day it happened. The scouts all rode back to them.
“The castle is only a day’s ride from here,” one of them reported.
“What did you see?” Selwyn wanted to know if Vileheart had added any more monsters to his ranks. From what the scout reported it sounded like he had not.
“We attack tomorrow!” Selwyn yelled to the troops. That meant no drinking, for the troops, or for Tiernan and Thryth. They would all need to be clearheaded when they woke.
Once camp was set Selwyn and the others, including the generals and the giant, gathered to go over their plan one last time. Everyone knew what they were to do. They were as ready as they were ever going to be.
“I hate to deceive Jabin,” Arden said to Valeris.
“You’re protecting him. Don’t think any more about it.” The plan was to take Jabin to the cooks. Once they were gone, the cooks were to give him a treat for being brave. That treat would then put him to sleep, and the cooks would lay him in a nearby tent where they would take turns checking on him.
“I know. It’s just that so many people in his life have lied to him, and now that’s what I’m doing.” Arden hung his head in shame.
“This isn’t the same, and you know it. Those other people lied to him to hurt him. That’s not what you’re doing.”
“I know; you’re right, I guess we should turn in. It looks like everyone is heading for bed.” They went to bed, and like everyone else, got very little sleep. They were all thinking of the monsters they would face the next day.
Morning came to find the camp already preparing for the day. In short order, they all departed, Arden’s plan for Jabin work, as well as he hoped, though he didn’t know that when he left.
Thryth stayed in the back with the griffins. They were an integral piece of the plan involving Thryth. His new friend, Perhold, along with the other giants, was in the front of the army. Had they been in back they would have had to wade through the troops to get to the enemy.
Everyone was set and ready, or so they hoped. The gold dragon had taken a griffin and flown west in order to flank the castle. He would stay in human form until he was right on top of the castle. Then he would transform back to his natural state and tangle with the dragon of shadows.
As they got closer to the castle, they began to see the enemy: goblins, orcs, ogres, trolls, giants, skeletons and zombies. That of course wasn’t the real problem: Vileheart, the dragon of shadows and the abomination, his general, were all on the highest wall of the castle. From there they could do all manner of damage to the troops coming to evict him.
Selwyn and his army, for that was what they were; Selwyn’s army, waited for the gold dragon to attack the castle before they started their assault.
Selwyn spotted the griffin coming in from the east, but before it reached the castle it erupted into flames. In the same instant, the gold dragon transformed and flew straight for the dragon of shadows. When he was close enough he breathed fire all over the top of the castle. That was all they could see, and it was their signal, they all charged in.
William grabbed Selwyn and they teleported to the top of the castle as soon as the flames died down. Culfang too disappeared and reappeared on the wall behind Vileheart himself.
Rowena was on top of Ril’dar. When they reached a safe spot for Rowena to throw spells from, they separated. After giving much thought to it, she decided she would set Ril’dar aflame again. He had assured her it didn’t hurt him, and that it would do a lot of damage to the enemy. She would then stay back and use magic from a distance.
Edred and everyone else, except Thryth, charged in. There part of the plan was simple and straightforward, hack and slay anything that stood against them.
Thryth was picked up by a griffin and flown over the battle. He was going to start taking out the skeletons.
“Drop me in the middle of ‘em. I’ll take ‘em all out.” And that was what the griffin did. It dove toward the skeletons and got as low as it could to safely drop the dwarf. When he was dropped, Thryth rolled through the skeletons, knocking many over as he came to his feet, swinging his hammers. William had brought another new war hammer back when he was outfitting everyone. It was the twin to the one he had found at Ladon’s lair. With these two hammers in his hands, he felt invincible.
Thryth swung his hammers and smashed anything they touched. The skeletons tried to block his attacks with their shields, but those hammers smashed through them as if they were dry, dead wood.
Rowena found an old wall to hide behind and lit up Ril’dar. He ran off through the monsters. Those he didn’t catch on fire; he rammed with his horn.
Rowena then sent a card flying toward the giants, who were not yet in combat. She sent forth a spectral dragon that was both fire and lighting. The giants didn’t even see it coming. It attacked them doing serious damage.
She didn’t know what the odds were, but it looked like they were in the enemies favor. She targeted the center of the largest group of trolls she could find and sent a card flying. When it reached them, she let loose a hail of stones. Each of those stones that touched flesh turned it to stone. She had no doubt that the troops could take out the ogres and orcs, but she wasn’t sure about the trolls. Now it would be a little easier. She continued to throw spell after spell doing everything she could to help.
Arden, Valeris, Osric and Tiernan moved to the left and deeper into the horde of monsters. Their swords were such a blur it looked like silver dust, blowing in the wind. Nothing could stand against them. Ogres and orcs were cut to pieces as they moved toward the trolls that were still flesh. The men funneled in where they left a void forming a wedge to allow more men to fight.
Edred, Conrad, Wayland and Rylan did as Arden’s group only they went to the right. They hacked and slashed their way toward the castle. They were headed to a group of giants who stood in their way. The closer they got to the giants, the easier it was to see that they were busy trying to fight off Rowena’s spell.
The giants fighting on Selwyn’s side walked up the middle of the monsters. They kick orcs and ogres sending them flying. More men poured in behind them. The griffins flew over dropping large rocks on a crowd of zombies. Ril’dar came zigzagging back to Rowena with her spell gone from him. She renewed the spell, and he was off again. When he turned to leave Rowena saw a gash in his flank. Before he could get out of sight, she threw a card and healed him.
As Rowena was throwing cards and casting spells, she caught something out of the corner of her eye. She turned to get a better look and was floored by what she saw; it was the witch.
“Those are my zombies and I’ve come to take them back to the swamp with me.” The witch wasn’t yelling, but everyone heard her as if she were standing next to them. Rowena was amazed to see that the fighting had stopped on both sides. The crowd parted, and the zombies filed through the opening. Once all the zombies were passed the witch she turned and left, almost as soon as she turned around the fighting resumed. With the zombies no longer a target, the griffins started dropping their large rocks on the trolls. They might not do a lot of damage, but they would distract them.
Up on top of the castle there were major clashes of power. The dragon of shadows released a fog of darkness, and the gold dragon blew it away with a blast of his fiery breath. Since the dragon of shadows couldn’t use its fog to gain an advantage, it attacked with claws and teeth. It was hoping to mortally wound his foe. The two clashed in midair where they exchanged slashing blows with their massive talons. The gold struck out with his sword-like teeth and latched on to the shadow’s throat. The shadow whipped its head around and rammed his lance-like horns into the gold’s neck, causing him to lose his grip. They pushed apart at the same time, each trying to gain the advantage. The dragon of shadows spun around and connected with the gold dragon’s side. The gold blasted the shadow with his breath weapon shadow fled. They were both bleeding badly, but the gold dragon didn’t relent and pursued the dragon of shadows. They dove toward the ground and then back to the sky. They wove in and out of the castle’s towers and spires. When the gold dragon tired of the game, he struck his dark foe with a bolt of lightning. The dragon of shadows dipped but stayed in the air. The gold struck it with lightning again, and it dipped a little further this time. The dragon of shadows, fearing for its life, dove for the ground once again. Before it slammed into the ground it opened a dimension door in front of itself and escaped back to the dark reaches of the underworld. The gold dragon had been following close behind but pulled out of his dive before he hit the ground. With his foe vanquished he flew back to camp to heal his wounds the best he could. Unable to counteract the shadow magic might be the end of him. He knew he could stop the flow of blood, but the wounds would never completely heal.
Selwyn and William stood before the general, choking on the stench of its rotting flesh. While they tried to recover from the shock of that smell, it attacked. It brought its sword from behind and over its head. Selwyn raised his shield just in time to deflect the blow. Unfortunately, for William, it was deflected at him. The sword came in from the side before William had a chance to move. It struck him in his upper arm where the blade found bone. Selwyn didn’t understand; it should have been knocked back when it hit his shield.
Selwyn plunged Gytha Cynric into the general’s chest while he had the chance to attack. It swung back on Selwyn, who ducked just in time. With his sword still in the general he shot off a quick series of fireballs. The first two didn’t seem to do anything, but the third and fourth exploded out of its back. It went to its knees, but it was back up on its feet in a flash. Selwyn looked at William incredulously.
Before it could fully regain its stance, William struck out with his sword. His blade landed in the same place he had been struck; it didn’t seem to notice. It struck back at William, but he couldn’t lift his shield because of the gash in his arm. He brought his sword up and tried to block the blow. It did little good, but instead of striking his chest, the blade found his leg. Even through his armor it bit into his thigh. William was of little good now. He had an injured arm and leg on the same side of his body. He would stand as best he could, but all he could do to help Selwyn was to be a target to the general.
Selwyn wasn’t sure what he should do. His fireballs should have taken it down, but they didn’t. Before he could think of what to do the general was attacking him again. This time it was faster. It made a series of swings, chops and thrusts that he could hardly keep up with. He managed to block them all, except the last. Like William, the sword went right through his armor. He was stabbed on the right side of his lower abdomen. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. He became dizzy, and his vision blurred. He wanted to give up right then and there, but William had been wounded twice, and he was still standing. He would have to push through the pain.
William tried to engage the general with a thrust from his sword, but it paid him no attention. It pulled back to strike Selwyn again, but William wasn’t going to let it swing. He threw himself forward and tried one last time to strike a blow. He did hit it, and even managed to knock its helmet off, but he went down, unable to stand any longer. The pain took him, and he passed out.
What Selwyn saw, what the helmet had been hiding, was grotesque; its rotting flesh slid from its skull and plopped to the floor of the tower. Selwyn didn’t hesitate; he swung Gytha Cynric with all his might. It brought up its shield, but it did no good. Gytha Cynric sliced through it like it wasn’t even there. Once through the shield it continued on through its head, cutting it in half. To Selwyn’s horror, the general remained standing. It swung out blindly, missing Selwyn every time. When he saw an opening Selwyn chopped off its sword arm at the shoulder, and still it stood defiant. He had to keep trying, but he was getting weak with blood loss. When he saw another opening, he brought Gytha Cynric down like a guillotine. He struck his mark and cut the general in half. Without both legs to hold it up it finally fell to the floor. He had no idea if it was dead or not, but it wasn’t moving. He tried to get to William, but he too hit the floor, unconscious.
Culfang stood face to face with Vileheart. He was ready to fight this man to the death, but he needed to know who had trained him.
“Who trained you in the art of magic?”
“You have come all this way to ask me that? Surely, you already know the answer.” Culfang didn’t say anything. “Your people really don’t have imagination. Very well, I’ll tell you. It’s not like you’ll be able to stop them from training more.” He gave Culfang a wicked smile. “Still don’t know? I believe you would refer to them, in hushed tones, as. . . Tia’Roth. Oh, there you go, a little comprehension.” Before Vileheart could utter another word Culfang cast a spell he swore to never use again, a death spell.
Vileheart threw up his arms, and the spell struck his gauntlets. Vileheart laughed at Culfang’s failed attempt. “Did you really think that would work, after hearing who has trained me?” He laughed louder.
Culfang didn’t bother to answer. He blasted Vileheart with a bolt of lightning. Although the power of the bolt knocked him down it didn’t hurt him. He sat up and laughed again.
“This is kind of fun. If I knew how much fun this was going to be, I wouldn’t have waited, I would have gone to you.” He stood back up and brushed himself off. “My turn to throw the ball,” He cast a spell unknown in the human world for thousands of years. It was a spell of darkness meant to change the recipient into an evil being with the blackest of hearts. Now he understood how the man came by his name. Had he been any other elf, even Lorranu, he would have fallen to this spell. As it was, he wasn’t any other elf; he was the one to stop this spell all those years ago. When the spell struck him, it was absorbed by his ring and shot back a beam of light that erased the spell from Vileheart’s memory. Even if he tried to relearn it again it would never be remembered by him.
When Vileheart figured out what had happened, his laughter turned into a growl. He tried another spell; the same death spell Culfang tried on him. Culfang blocked it just as easily. They both shot forth a beam of energy. The beams exploded when they met. They were both blasted back by the explosion, and both were hurt from it.
Culfang got to his feet first. He cast a spell of binding on Vileheart, but he was quickly out of it.
Vileheart counter attacked with another dark spell. Culfang wasn’t prepared for this one. When it hit him, it felt like hundreds of tiny blades were shredding his skin. Blood soaked through his clothes. Culfang decided to change his tactics; he would use simple spells, those Vileheart wouldn’t expect. He cast a web on him, and Vileheart was indeed caught off guard. The web clung to him, sticking his arms to his sides. He next cast flame, a simple spell used to light candles. Being a wizard he should have been protected against fire, but if he thought Culfang, would think he was, then he wouldn’t use fire, Vileheart was wrong. The web burst into flames, searing his skin. Vileheart was free of the web, but he was in an immense amount of pain. He brought up his arms, but he was too late. Culfang blasted him with a fireball; Vileheart burst into flames. Screams of agony filled Culfang’s ears. Culfang cast a death spell one more time. Vileheart wasn’t in a position to block, it and he was struck dead; the fight was over.
On the ground below the battle raged. When Culfang saw a large group of monsters, he struck them with lightning. Rowena was still throwing cards and causing chaos. It wasn’t long before the battle for Zarail was at an end. Selwyn and his friends had gained victory.