A Tale of Dragons

Chapter 18

Ethan leapt forward to meet their charge and buried his spear into the chest of an unfortunate man who wasn't quick enough to dodge or parry the thrust. However, that left Ethan defenseless as his spear lodged between the man's ribs. Two of the bandits raised their swords to attack and Ethan knew he wasn't fast enough to dodge.

From his right, twin fireballs blasted both of the attacking men. They staggered back -- burned but still very much alive and kicking. Ethan gave an almighty pull and the spear came out of the man's chest with a nasty sucking noise. The dragon raised it to defend himself and kept jabbing it at the men to keep them at arm's length.

Whenever one of them got past his spear point, Rachel would launch a fireball. There was a tense standoff and Ethan chanced a glance backwards. Alana had apparently jumped backwards, tripped, and landed on her back because all the arrows in her quiver were broken or bent at odd angles. She had one good arrow left and held it nocked into the bow, but not drawn.

Wurven's remaining men were cautiously testing Ethan's defenses while their leader stood back and watched. He had drawn his longsword and was holding a wooden shield on his other arm. He had a war hammer hanging at his side via a leather strap; it looked like a two-foot long framing hammer with a slightly larger head.

"I've got an idea, but it'll take time and completely drain me." Rachel said softly to Ethan.

"Do it." Ethan said jabbing forward with his spear again.

Over the next ten seconds, Ethan noticed a slight change in the atmosphere that reminded him of how it had felt when Drousin had magically unshackled Alana. It made him shiver and his scales stand on end.

Then Ethan felt the air change.

Something went past him in the direction of the four leading bandits. In moments, frost appeared on their clothes and weapons. As one, they turned to run, but they weren't anywhere near fast enough. Ice covered their entire bodies and they fell.

Ethan looked behind him to see the massive amount of heat Rachel had pulled from their bodies concentrated into a single large fireball. Rachel launched this directly at Wurven, who raised his shield to try and block it. The shield burst into flames and moments later he cast it aside, flames still flickering from it as it burned. The moment the shield dropped, Alana sent her last arrow flying. It hit the chainmail squarely...

...But the broad, hunting arrowhead didn't penetrate the linked rings.

Ethan didn't think they could count on any more spells for a while as Rachel slumped to the ground behind him, panting for breath.

Wurven knocked the dangling arrow from his chest.

"You've spent all your efforts and none of you can get through my armor. Surrender now and I'll give you a quick death." He pointed at Ethan. "The other two we'll take more time over."

None of them moved, and the armored man charged forward. For a person wearing so much chainmail, he moved very quickly. Ethan, Alana and Rachel scattered. Ethan managed to land a thrust with his spear as he jumped aside. The spear point stuck into the chainmail, but the wide tip didn't force the riveted steel rings apart. The dragon landed and immediately leapt forward again, throwing all of his might behind a single thrust.

It wasn't enough.

Again his broad spear tip caught -- but didn't break -- the riveted steel rings of Wurven's armor.

"Stupid beast." He said. "What kind of i***t would attack chainmail with a short spear?"

Ethan surveyed the situation. Wurven was right. There was no way his spear was going to pierce that armor. Alana was out of arrows, although she was looking for more. Rachel, winded from her efforts, was panting for breath. Fortunately, the bandit was ignoring them and focusing on him.

The armored man attacked again with his longsword, handling the blade with practiced ease. Ethan jumped backwards and thrust out with his spear. Wurven parried the attack easily and then counter-attacked. Ethan tried dodging again, but wasn't fast enough and the sword opened a long, shallow cut on the dragon's arm.

"I might have me some dragon for dinner." Wurven taunted.

Behind him, Ethan could see the captive blond woman trying to get Alana's attention. She mouthed something that Ethan didn't catch and pointed to Wurven's side. Ethan followed her finger and saw it -- the warhammer. They were designed to fight men in armor, doing damage by crushing not cutting. It could do the trick if only he could get to it.

Wurven and Ethan sparred for a few minutes and it quickly became clear that the man was toying with him. He had several chances to kill Ethan, but was enjoying the sport of the kill. The dragon attacked time after time, but his spear just couldn't get through the chainmail to reach flesh. Ethan briefly considered running, but he couldn't leave the others behind, especially Alana.

After a few minutes, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Alana had pulled the arrow from the body of the first man she had shot.

"Hey s**t-for-brains." Ethan said to Wurven. "You know what they say about men with big swords?"

He held his hand up and flexed his smallest finger.

Wurven stopped moving and flourished the sword in his hand. Ethan could see that the man had decided to finish toying with him. That was all the opening Alana needed. She drew her bow back, took careful aim and loosed the arrow. It struck true and sliced right through the leather strap holding the warhammer. Fortunately, he didn't notice the weapon fall to the ground.

Wurven did feel the arrow hit his side, however and laughed scornfully. "Stupid f*****g elves. You've already tried that one -- for the last time!"

He charged at Alana. Ethan dropped his spear and darted forward on all fours. As he ran, he picked up the fallen warhammer and leapt forward.

He reached Wurven just as the man reached Alana, winding up a horizontal slice that Alana would have no chance to dodge. Ethan raised the hammer and brought it down with all his might on the armored helmet. The helmet was strong, but woefully inadequate to stop a direct hit from a warhammer swung by a very angry dragon.

The helmet -- and the skull underneath it -- caved in. The bandit fell forward and Alana barely avoided being pinned under him.

Ethan stood up, panting. "We... we did it."

Alana ran forward and wrapped Ethan in a hug.

"An elven b***h in heat; disgusting." Rachel muttered, clearly still out of breath. Alana jumped away from Ethan as if he had given her an electric shock.

"Thank you." Ethan said to Rachel, despite her comment. He knew she had really made the victory possible.

"You're welco--" Rachel started to say with a smile, then her ring glowed and she stopped mid-sentence. She seemed to struggle with herself for several seconds before standing up. Something was different about her expression -- an odd combination of vacant and determined.

"I'm exhausted, so I'll let you go this time." She said to Ethan. "The next time we meet, your hide is mine." Without another word, she turned and left the clearing.

"And the award for most delightful person of the year goes to..." Ethan said. Alana laughed, and sheer relief made Ethan and the blond woman join in. He took a sword from the ground and walked over to cut the ropes still hobbling the captives' feet.

"What's your name?" He asked the blond woman as he carefully sliced through the ropes.

"Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Beth." She replied, rubbing her ankles. There was rope burn on her wrists and hands, but otherwise she seemed unharmed. "Thank you for rescuing us."

"No problem. Thanks for pointing out the warhammer. You probably saved our skins."

She smiled. "Well, then that makes us almost even."

Ethan moved to cut the ropes on the boy's feet, but the boy shrank away. The dragon crouched down to his level and looked him in the eye. "If I was going to hurt you, I wouldn't have fought those men."

The boy hesitated for a moment, then look at his sister.

"He's a friend Charles, we can trust him." Beth said. The boy still seemed scared, but let Ethan cut his bonds.

"Are your horses nearby?" she asked.

"Um, not really." Ethan said.

"Hidden deep in the forest then?"

"We flew." Alana cut in as she joined them. "Or rather he flew. I rode."

Beth's jaw dropped. "You rode a dragon!"

"We didn't really think about getting back." Ethan said. "And before you get any bright ideas, there's no way I can carry more than one person."

"Multiple trips it is then." Alana sighed, a twinkle in her eye.

"Now wait just a minute..." Ethan started. "I assume those corpses had horses we could take."

"Not anymore." Alana pointed out. Rachel had taken off riding one horse and she was holding the reins of a half dozen others.

"So, I guess we're all flying back then." Alana said, trying to stifle a smile.

"You mean I get to ride a dragon?" the boy said, going from nervous fear to joyful wonder in an instant.

"How could you disappoint that face?" Alana asked.

"He's stubborn too." Beth added. "Won't take no for an answer."

"Yes but--" Ethan started.

"We do need to get back, and that's the fastest way." The elf pointed out.

"I've read that dragons can fly ten or fifteen leagues in a single hour." Beth exclaimed. "Is it true?"

Alana nodded. "It makes a mess of your hair though."

"You're forgetting the one with the wings needs to agree to this." Ethan said with a frown.

"Details." Alana said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Through their bond, he could tell she was really enjoying teasing him.

Well two could play at that game.

"Of course, we can't leave the boy alone." Ethan said. "I'd have to take Beth first, and then she can wait while I drop off Charles. Then we can head for the bank."

"Aren't you forgetting one important detail?" Alana asked.

Ethan pursed his lips for a few moments, emulating thought, and then shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

He turned to Beth. "Can you think of any part I'm missing?"

"Maybe." She said with a smile. "I've heard there are elves in these woods."

"Elves?" The boy exclaimed, grabbing his sister's dress. "I want to see an elf, Bethy. Can I see an elf -- please?"

"You already have." Alana sighed, pulling back her hair to show the boy her ears.

"Ooh." The boy said. "I thought Elves were only three feet tall?"

"Alana is a giant elf." Ethan said with a straight face. "She's almost freakishly large."

Alana gave Ethan a little slap on the arm, but smiled. "Stop teasing the boy."

"On a more serious note." Ethan said. "That just leaves one detail. Are we going to wait until dark or risk flying during the day?"