Guardians of Magessa (The Birthright Chronicles Book 1) (34 page)

“Do you really think this is the time for
that?” Josiah asked with a puzzled look at Wellter.

“If you think about the battle too much,
you’re going to fry your brain,” Wellter explained. “You have to take time to
relax.”

“Well, you’ve been doing this a lot longer
than I have, so if you say so, I’ll believe you,” Josiah conceded.

“I say so,” Wellter said. “Now tell me how
you ended up at the academy.”

“I’m afraid to say it isn’t a very
interesting story,” Josiah said. “I grew up in a small village that is set off
the beaten path. There wasn’t much of a future for anyone who stayed there so
most of the young men left to join the army. I happened to be smarter than
most, I guess, because before long I was sent to the academy. I’ve been there
ever since.”

“You were correct, that wasn’t very
interesting,” Wellter quipped.

“So, what about you?” Josiah turned the
question back on the elf. “What’s your story? I bet it’s a lot more interesting
than mine.”

“It is,” Wellter agreed. “I would tell
you, but it is a very long story. I wouldn’t have time to finish and then you’d
be wondering about it when you have to fight. That’s how people die.”

“Very funny,” Josiah said. Clearly he
wasn’t going to get anything else out of the elf on that subject, but the
talking was calming his nerves. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me about you,
do you have any good jokes?”

******

Vladimir opened his eyes and wondered
sleepily where he was. As his consciousness deepened, he took in his
surroundings—the walls that surrounded him, the ceiling over him, and the bed
beneath him. He recognized this place, but its name was eluding him. Then the
memory of the past few days broke over him like a spray of cold water, and he
sat up in the bed. He knew where he was: the infirmary at the academy, which
could only mean one thing—Timothy had succeeded in his mission and had told
those at the academy where he had left Vladimir.

The door to the room opened and Timothy
strode in. He did not look particularly happy, and Vladimir suddenly wondered
if the mission had actually failed. He held his tongue until Timothy sat down
in a chair by his bed.

“So what’s happening?” he asked. He was so
eager to hear the answer that he was actually leaning toward Timothy.

“Some dragons found me just before I
passed out, and they brought me here,” Timothy said. “When I regained consciousness,
we had just reached the academy, and I wasted no time in telling the grand
admiral about the dwarf army. He immediately sent messengers throughout the
country to warn about the attack. He also sent a force of seventy dragons to
assist in the battle against the dwarves.”

“So what’s wrong?” Vladimir asked. “It
looks like you aren’t entirely satisfied with the results of our mission.”

“I only wonder whether or not we arrived
in time for our dragons to be of assistance. I can’t remember how many days it
took to get here from Saddun, but I can only hope that it was fast enough.”

“We did all that we could, and that is all
that anyone can ask of us,” Vladimir said. “We will have to leave the rest in
the hands of Elohim. All we can do now is pray that He will sustain our armies
until the dragons reach them.”

“Can we do that now?” Timothy asked.

Vladimir had always looked up to the older
cadet as a wiser and more mature person, but right now he had the look of a
lost puppy. Vladimir nodded, and together they knelt on the floor and prayed
silently. For half an hour not a word was spoken between the two cadets as they
prayed. Finally they rose to their feet and without breaking the silence
Timothy left the room while Vladimir climbed back into bed to rest.

******

Senndra and Lydia stood in the library of
Saddun and gazed up at massive shelves that contained hundreds of books,
scrolls, maps, and other pieces of written material. All Senndra could do was
stare and wonder how in the world she was going to find what she wanted from
this huge compilation of volumes. Lydia, however, went straight to work,
running her finger along the spines of the books. She passed several shelves
altogether and resumed her search again, moving up the bookcase until she was
forced to use a ladder to reach the higher shelves. She finally discovered the
section that she was looking for and began to pull out various volumes and
browse through them. Whenever she found one that she liked, she handed it down
to Senndra. By the time Lydia came down from the ladder, the stack of books in
Senndra’s hands had grown to perhaps a dozen volumes.

“These are some of the most informative
books on dwarves that can be found anywhere in the country,” Lydia said as she
led Senndra from the shelf and into the main hall of the library. This hall was
lined with numerous others which housed even more shelves of books. The number
of volumes was staggering, and Senndra wondered again how Lydia was able to
find exactly what she wanted. At the front of the building, Lydia led Senndra
to a counter where an older lady made a note of each book that was in the pile.

“So you’re back into dwarves now, Lydia?”
the woman asked.

“No, these are for my friend,” Lydia
answered.

“Well, I hope she enjoys them,” the woman
said as she finished putting the book names into her log.

“I’m sure she will,” Lydia said.

Senndra followed Lydia out of the library
and down the street outside. The sun had sunk behind the mountains, and the
sound of people returning from their work was no longer in the air. Since the
battle, a great deal of progress had been made toward restoring the city. The
debris was being cleared away and many of the buildings as well as the northern
wall were being repaired. The wall had obviously been the first priority, and
the breaches in it had been barricaded by wooden palisades. Stone was now being
brought from a quarry in the mountains to restore the wall to its original
strength. During the day everyone helped with the repair efforts, so it was
only in the late afternoon, after the work was finished for the day, that
Senndra and Lydia were able to visit the library.

The two girls entered the building where
the servants slept and climbed the stairs to the second floor. A hall stretched
the entire length of the building, and halfway down, they entered a room. Due
to a lack of sleeping quarters, they shared this small room with three other
girls who were not there at the moment. Five cots covered the majority of the
floor, leaving room for only a small path along one wall. Senndra sat on one of
the end cots and wedged her books into a small gap between the cot and the
wall. She kept one back with the title
Dwarves and Their Habitat
and
immediately opened it and began to read. She became engrossed in her reading,
only looking up when Lydia tapped her on the shoulder.

“It’s dinner time” she said. Senndra put
her book aside and followed her friend out of the room. They left the building
and headed toward the mess hall. A group of people had gathered in front of the
hall, and as the girls were about to pass them, Senndra spotted Lemin standing
in the middle. She grabbed Lydia’s arm and pulled her into the group until she
was close enough that she could hear what was being said.

“The army that left this city had a very
small chance of returning, much less defeating the dwarves,” Lemin said. “They
knew that when they set out, and yet they still went in order to protect their
country. They put together a plan that had a chance of defeating the dwarves.
But even the best laid plans go amiss, and I fear that their strategy has been
brought to naught. Therefore, I have asked you to gather here so that we might
pray for our comrades that Elohim will give them strength and uphold them in
their trials.”

Lemin got on his knees and bowed his head.
One by one, the members of the crowd followed suit. Senndra did the same, but
as she closed her eyes, an image of Josiah, Cirro and a few other soldiers,
both elf and human, crouching behind a boulder, jumped into her mind. The enemy
soldiers surrounding them outnumbered them heavily. Senndra snapped her eyes
open and found herself in a circle of praying people, so she slowly shut her
eyes again. This time she saw nothing but darkness, and she began to pray. If
the vision that she just had was anything like reality, the army needed all the
prayer they could get.

******

The sun had set by the time the dwarves
stopped flinging boulders from their catapults, and torches now lit the ranks
of their army. Somehow the darkness made the dwarf army seem more ominous than
before, and the remains of the army of Magessa huddled in their natural
fortress. Their numbers had been cut greatly by the pounding of the dwarves’
catapults, but Josiah knew that their losses could have been much greater. At
the onset of the barrage, he had figured that at most a fourth of the army
would survive and was therefore greatly encouraged by the number of warriors
that were left. He watched as the ranks of the dwarf army moved toward him, but
he did not stir or make a sound. He and Wellter had already decided that the
best plan of action would be to remain silent and motionless until the dwarves
moved in to make sure that they were dead. Then they would kill as many as they
could without presenting themselves; however, when they were forced out into
the open, they would attack ferociously and stay among the dwarf lines so that
their crossbows would be useless. This was why the entire army stood motionless
on the hill, hiding among the boulders and waiting.

A group of one hundred dwarves slowly made
its way up the hill. They were clearly not expecting to find any survivors, and
they held their shields and weapons in a careless manner. As they neared the
defenders, the soldiers tensed, ready for the first strike. The dwarves passed the
first line of defenders, searching among the boulders. The soldiers caught the
unsuspecting dwarves as they came through, covering their mouths and slashing
their throats. Neither the muffled cries nor the thud of falling corpses could
be heard above the sound of the advancing army, and the dwarves continued their
advance until there was no more ground left to take.

Josiah turned to Cirro, who stood beside
him, and punched his outstretched fist in triumph. Then he peered around the
boulder he stood behind and observed the dwarf army. They had no idea what had
just occurred and were waiting for the search party to return. Minutes passed,
and after half an hour, it became obvious that they were not coming back. So
another party, with twice the number of soldiers, was sent to find the first.
Josiah motioned to Cirro that there were two hundred dwarves this time, and the
two friends readied themselves for the attack. This time the dwarves carried
their weapons and shields at the ready, prepared for anything. Josiah heard a
soft moaning to his left and recognized it as a signal. Wellter had decided
that the dwarves were well-prepared and that a concentrated attack would be the
best course of action. The dwarves were within feet of the first soldiers when
the signal to attack came. Humans and elves burst from their hiding places and
smashed into the dwarf contingent. The dwarves were heavily outnumbered and
didn’t stand a chance. The army of Magessa trampled them and continued the
frenzied charge down the hill toward the main dwarf army. The dwarves were
stunned by the attack, and the crossbowmen barely had time to fire before the
humans and elves hit them. With swords flashing, the small army pushed its way
through the dwarf lines, killing and trampling anyone who stood before them;
however, as they progressed, their momentum steadily diminished until the sheer
number of dwarves forced them to a halt. The soldiers formed a circle, but even
this did not work. The dwarves crushed in on them, forcing soldiers from the
circle and killing them. The crossbowmen began their attack, their first
barrage devastating the army.

As Josiah stood with the few remaining
defenders, he knew that the end was near. The dwarves were closing in to finish
off the last remnants of the army. But just then, they were interrupted by a
harsh sound that was music to Josiah's ears. A dragon’s roar washed across the
armies and distracted the dwarves. Josiah and his small army seized the
opportunity and attacked the dwarves, cutting a path through them and out into
the plain. Quickly they put as much distance as possible between themselves and
the dwarves. Finally they turned and saw one of the most stunning sights in the
world. Seventy dragons circled over the dwarves, blasting the army with fire.
The dwarves were running in all directions, clearly panicked by this new
development. Crossbows were discharged at the beasts, but a flying target is
hard to hit. The bolts that did reach the dragons bounced off of their scales,
doing nothing but aggravating the beasts.  A few of the enemy were manning
ballistae, siege equipment that fired large javelins. Three dragons swooped in
on a concentration of the machines, spiraling as the weapons discharged their
missiles. Two javelins ripped through the wing of one dragon, and the beast hit
the ground at full speed, sliding through several of the ballistae. Each of the
other two dragons hit one of the machines with its tail and reduced it to
matchwood.

The fallen dragon regained its feet and
did not appear to be seriously damaged by the fall. The dwarves swarmed the
beast, but soon discovered that even a fallen dragon can be extremely
dangerous. It torched the dwarves in front of it and cleared out those behind
it with its tail. The rider astride it fired arrows into the dwarves, but all
of this was to no avail. Finding the blind spots on the dragon's sides, the
dwarves fell upon the beast with weapons drawn. The first wave of them was
trampled beneath the beast's feet, but not even the mighty beast could hold off
thousands of dwarves. In no time, they had pulled the rider from his saddle and
killed him. Then they swarmed the dragon, hacking and stabbing at his scales,
trying to find a weak spot. The dragon roared and thrashed, but the dwarves
continued to pile on top of it. It was only a matter of time before they found
a weakness to exploit. The dragon gave one last roar, thrashing his tail and
head wildly. His movements became weaker until he collapsed, unmoving, to the
ground.