Dragonmage of Mystara

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Thelvyn and Kharendaen returned directly to the lair at Solveig's house, unheralded and entirely unexpected. Sir George and Solveig ran out to meet them in the moments after they landed on the stones of the court. Thelvyn folded away his wings slowly, feeling more weary and in greater pain now that the need for action was behind him. The dragons wore no clothes to become travel-worn, but he could see that Kharendaen looked dusty and exhausted, and he was certain that he must look much the same. When he saw the way his old friends stared at them, he knew it must be obvious that he and Kharendaen had been through the worst.

Marthaen arrived a moment later, approaching not from the direction of the Academy but flying in swiftly over the city from the wilderness northwest of Braejr. Thelvyn guessed he must have been somewhere in the western mountains of the Wendarian Range, leading the dragons to prepare a line of defense against their enemies. The First Speaker undoubtedly came in a hurry in response to the opening of the small worldgate, so he must not have been too far away if he could have gotten back to Braejr in only a few short minutes. He circled around to cut his speed before he landed in the court.

"Where have you been?" he demanded.

"What a question," Thelvyn remarked sourly, sitting back on his haunches. "Obviously we had a little more trouble than we expected, but we've made it back. The only important thing now is the question of what has been happening here since we left. I assume that you've moved the dragons to the west."

"I had to," Marthaen answered. "There's an army of incredible size and strength coming out of the northwest. I've sent out a call, in the name of the Dragonking, for all the dragons in the world to gather here to fight this invasion."

Thelvyn nodded. "That's good. We have seen lines of soldiers and supply trains that stretched for miles, waiting to be sent into our world. I'm sorry to have caused you concern by being so late, but I'm glad you took the initiative for commanding our defenses in my absence."

"When you did not return after the first day, the Great One advised me to prepare our defenses at once," the First Speaker explained. "He assured me that he would bring you back as soon as he could."

"Then he was waiting for us," Kharendaen remarked. "No wonder we were able to make contact so quickly. I feel better knowing that."

"I don't," Thelvyn said. "If I had thought, we could have been home last night and avoided that last fight."

"Last fight?" Sir George asked, his eyebrows arched. "How many did you have?"

"The Masters are not presently engaged in any actual attacks anywhere you know about?" Thelvyn persisted, ignoring the old knight.

Marthaen shook his head. "They simply disappeared after their invasion of the Highlands fell apart. As far as we can tell, they've been gathering all their strength for a final battle, and we are doing the same."

Because the two young dragons looked so miserable, their discussion was suspended for a time so that they could fly out to the foothills of the Colossus Mountains and bathe in a small lake that Kharendaen knew about from the years when she had lived in Braejr. By the time they returned to the lair, Solveig had arranged for food and drink to be brought to them. They still looked very worn and abused, even after cleaning up. Marthaen threatened to call the clerics to inspect them. Kharendaen reminded him that she was a cleric.

They gave a quick account of their journey through the world of the Masters. Thelvyn was grateful that Kharendaen was willing to relate the events of their journey, since there were long periods of time he did not recall. He was also grateful she didn't speak of certain things he found painful or embarrassing. The others were clearly concerned by all they heard, especially about the Overlord. Indeed, Marthaen laid back his ears and stared at the floor, looking defeated.

"Then for all our efforts, we face an enemy we cannot defeat," he said. "Do we have any hope?"

"I see many reasons for hope," Thelvyn assured him. "Ever since he first encountered the gemstone dragons, he has planned to gather his strength until he could lead them here and make his home in our world. The Veydran told me he will lose some of his own strength when he leaves his own world. It is my hope he will not be nearly as strong as he was when I faced him in his own stronghold."

"And you said you made him retreat from you in fear once already," Sir George pointed out hopefully.

"Do not attach too much importance to that," Thelvyn warned. "I do not know why he fled. He appeared to have every advantage, yet he himself made no effort to prevent our escape. Perhaps he could no longer estimate my own powers, and he preferred not to take a chance. At any rate, the next time he faces me he will be in our world, where I am stronger and where I will be supported by the powers of the Immortals."

"Of course, he will also have the support of the Masters," Solveig added.

Thelvyn shook his head slowly. "I don't think so. Think of the Masters as clerics of the Overlord. We have seen already that he shares his powers with them. For that reason, their presence does not make him more powerful, because he has to divide his strength among them. Indeed, if he were forced to fight me directly, he might possibly have to withdraw his support from the Masters to strengthen himself."

"That may be an advantage we can use," Marthaen said, quick to understand matters of strategy. "If you have to face the Overlord in battle, we might be able to draw away some of his strength by pressing the battle against the Masters at the same time."

"We will see," Thelvyn said. "If the Overlord has any fault, it would be that he seems to be overly cautious, preferring not to risk himself when his enemies can still fight back. But I also believe that he will fight me himself rather than see his carefully laid plans frustrated. There must be some powerful reason for him to leave behind his old, established empire to come here, considering that he has gathered his strength for centuries for that purpose."

Sir George frowned. "Considering how the two of you looked when you first got here, he might just be longing for a good bath."

Once again Thelvyn ignored the old knight. "I don't expect that he will be willing to fight to the death," Thelvyn continued. "He will flee before it comes to that. But he must not escape, or yet another Dragonking may be forced to deal with him centuries from now."

Solveig and Sir George left to prepare for a meeting of the council of the Grand Alliance. Many of the delegates of the larger and more powerful nations had returned since the lifting of the siege of the Highlands, while others would have to be returned by dragon couriers. Even though all the delegates of the council weren't present, Thelvyn decided to assemble those who were in the Highlands at once. Arranging the defenses of their world could not wait, and there was one other matter he wanted to have decided.

Marthaen hesitated when the others left, although he was reluctant to interrupt now that Thelvyn and Kharendaen were finally able to eat their dinner in peace. But there were certain matters that he thought needed to be addressed.

"I am curious about one thing," he began. "I have always been suspicious of one aspect of the Overlord's plan for conquering our world, which seems to suggest that he is doomed to ultimate failure. Either he believes that he can defeat even the Immortals, or else he has never bothered to consider them in his schemes. We have seen in the past that the Immortals will react once a situation has become serious enough. Certainly this is the greatest crisis our world has faced since the fall of Blackmoor."

"I have wondered about that myself," Thelvyn said thoughtfully. "I've arrived at one possible explanation, one that fills me with dread but seems to explain everything. Perhaps the Overlord isn't concerned with the Immortals because he has long since allied himself with the chaotic elements among them, perhaps even some of the Immortals of neutral alignment who would not oppose his conquest of our world. He can never become an Immortal himself unless they wish it, but he would make an exceptionally powerful lieutenant who could finally bring all the forces of evil under a unified leadership."

"I see your point," Marthaen said softly, turning his head away and glaring in cold fury. "If a large enough faction among the Immortals support the Overlord, the rest of the Immortals could not oppose him directly. That might be why they chose you to be their champion."

Thelvyn nodded. "I am like the Overlord in that respect. We are both very much like the Immortals in the powers that we can command, but we are not Immortals, and therefore we are not bound by their restrictions. It remains to be seen which of us will prevail in our final battle. If nothing else, we did gain one advantage from our journey. I now know how to prevent the Overlord from controlling anyone who is not already under his command. Whatever alien magic he commands has one flaw, for he cannot command the will of someone who knows his name."

The delegates of the Grand Alliance were to gather that afternoon in the garden of the palace, which was the most convenient place for the dragons to speak with them. Thelvyn made a point of arriving early, before any of the delegates had arrived, together with his human companions and Kharendaen and Marthaen. The dragons reclined under the trees while the others sat on the stone benches of the garden. Thelvyn was a bit surprised when Perrantin turned up soon after they had arrived. Thelvyn had almost forgotten until that moment that the wizard was in Braejr.

"Since I was here anyway, I found myself nominated to represent Traladara in the Grand Alliance," Perrantin explained.

"That's good news," Solveig said. "Everyone there respects you enough to listen to you."

"You're still something of a hero in Traladara yourself," Perrantin reminded her. "Having you hosting the Grand Alliance here in Braejr carries a certain influence."

"That's all very well and good," Sir George commented. "But do they like the two of you well enough to send an army?"

"I'm not sure it matters much," Thelvyn commented. "Except for the dragons, I'm not certain we'll be able to move any other forces to the northwest in time to do any good."

He paused when he noticed that Ambassador Serran, the Alphatian delegate, had entered the garden, together with his adjutant and a couple of bodyguards. Thelvyn rose and walked slowly over to meet them, trying hard to appear unthreatening. It was a wasted effort; not many people could remain unconcerned while watching the approach of a dragon, and the Alphatian ambassador was no exception. Since Thelvyn once again wore the Collar of the Dragons, he was sure Serran knew who he was. He sat down, facing the Alphatian.

"Ambassador Serran?" he said.

The Alphatian bowed to him, recovering some of his lost composure. "I understand that you were away for a few days, Dragonking."

"Everything is going well," Thelvyn assured him. "However, there is something that I must discuss with you. A very urgent matter about someone that I met in my recent travels. Perhaps you have heard of him."

Watching the ambassador closely to see how he would react, Thelvyn spoke the secret name of the Overlord. The Alphatian's expression remained blank, as if the name had no meaning to him at all. For a moment, Thelvyn began to wonder if his guess about the identity of their spy had been wrong. But then he noticed that the ambassador continued to stare with that curiously blank look, as if he had been stunned. The other Alphatians noticed that something seemed to be wrong with their leader, and they watched him with concern.

"Ambassador Serran?" Thelvyn said softly. "Wake up, Ambassador. You might feel as if you've been asleep for a long time, but now your mind is once again your own. Are you familiar with the one whose name I spoke?"

The Ambassador shook his head distractedly. "No."

"It is the secret name of the Overlord. Can you say his name?"

The Ambassador blinked. "I don't remember it."

Thelvyn rolled his eyes, then moved his head forward and repeated the name quietly. The Alphatian blinked once more and repeated the name. Everyone watched him closely, but there was no obvious change in his condition.

"Do you have a jewel of some type that the Masters gave to you?" Thelvyn asked. "A red jewel, perhaps? Why don't you show it to me?"

The ambassador reached inside his jacket and brought out a red jewel attached to a light chain, to all appearances just like the jewel that Thelvyn had taken from Alessa Vyledaar some weeks earlier. It looked like nothing more than a piece of cheap glass, glowing with a pale red light that faded as soon as he took it out. Finally showing signs of emerging from his trancelike state, the ambassador removed the chain from his neck and held it up. Thelvyn reached out and took it carefully in one claw.

"How many of your people have one of these?"

Thelvyn had not spoken in a threatening manner, but suddenly the Alphatian turned pale and began to shake in fear. It was obvious that his terror was not directed toward the gold dragon; he was beginning to realize the truth of just how deeply he had been entrapped. "The Masters are careful not to enlist too many people to serve them. There are probably no more than a dozen people under their control in all of Alphatia."

"That's not so many," Thelvyn said, sounding bright and reassuring, as if he were already in control of the situation. "What kind of promises did the Masters make to your people?"

"They promised that we would be their lieutenants," Ambassador Serran explained. "They said that if we helped them conquer this world, they would permit us to rule it for them when the conquest is complete."

"They probably said the same thing to the Fire Wizards," Thelvyn said. "What they didn't tell either of you is that the Overlord wants this world for his own. What were the Alpha-tians going to do for them in return? They expected more than your services as spies, I should think."

The Ambassador shook his head helplessly. "The Alphatian fleet is already on the way, each ship transporting every soldier it can bear. If your battle with the Masters does not end quickly, then we will move our armies in behind your allies and attack them from behind, taking them by surprise. No one was to know that we were secretly allied with the Masters."

"I figured that out a long time ago," Thelvyn told him. "I knew from the first meeting of the Grand Alliance that you were a spy. From the very first, I fed you false information that led the Masters into a trap. So even though you never suspected it, you've been able to help us considerably."

"Can you save my people?" the Alphatian asked eagerly, almost pleading.

"That should be simple enough." Thelvyn bent his head around to look at Marthaen. "Do you suppose we could find two or three competent young dragon sorcerers who could leave at once for Alphatia? The ambassador can accompany them and point out everyone who might benefit from knowing the Overlord's name. They in turn can convince the Alphatian army to help us rather than attack us."

"Our people will fight alongside you once they hear of this, make no mistake," Ambassador Serran insisted. "Knowing now that he planned to deceive us, we have as much cause as anyone to hate the Overlord."

The arrangements were made at once, although the Alphatian ambassador needed to stay long enough to attend the meeting of the Grand Alliance. He was concerned that the dragons should have as much support in fighting the Masters as the other nations could spare, and he wanted all the other delegates to know of Alphatia's complete devorion to the cause. Thelvyn was satisfied with the way things had turned out, but Alphatia's potential duplicity was one of the least of his concerns. Although he did not speak of it to anyone else, he was afraid the Overlord would order the deaths of the Alphatian spies rather than permit them to regain their free will.

Thelvyn took advantage of the final minutes before the meeting to have a quick word with his companions. They withdrew to one corner of the garden while the delegates continued to arrive.

"That was very reassuring," he told the others. "I've been concerned that our forces might be vulnerable to the will of the Overlord, the same problem we had during the invasion of the Highlands. Now we can be sure that anyone who knows the Overlord's secret name is protected from his influence. Besides that, we can apparently use his name to break his influence over his present slaves."

"That's nice," Solveig commented, obviously uncertain that the tactic would be as useful as it seemed. "We could hire heralds to run up to their army shouting the Overlord's name, and that would be the end of the war."

"I admit it won't be as simple as that," Thelvyn said. "But it will allow us to free any of the gemstone dragons we subdue rather than slay them. The Overlord permits them to believe they are willing servants so that they can help channel his powers, directing his vast armies of slaves far more efficiently than he could do alone. We can weaken him by taking apart his structure of command, whether we free the gemstone dragons or slay them."

"At least now we have the absolute support of Alphatia," Sir George remarked.

"I'll believe that when it happens," Thelvyn said. "The ambassador is making promises that are not his to make or keep, and the Alphatians might simply summon their armies back home. At least we won't have to worry about having them at our backs anymore."

The meeting of the Alliance itself went smoothly. The delegates were not informed of the events of his nearly disastrous journey to the world of the Masters. They did know that a vast, powerful army was approaching from the wilderness of the northwest, and that the only thing standing between their enemies and their own lands was the dragons. The idea that dragons would be willing to fight in their defense was still new and strange to them. It helped to make them even more aware of their gratitude and their own obligations to the battle.

Thelvyn elected to speak to them candidly on the subject of their defense against the invasion. He doubted very much that the dragons would be able to defeat the army of the Masters on their own. At best, he could only hope to slow the advance of the enemy long enough for the armies of the Grand Alliance to be brought into the Highlands, hopefully meeting the Masters in a final battle at the defensive line of the Wendarian Mountains. The dragons would be at their best advantage in the mountains, and it would be easier for the others to hold the passes rather than attempt to fight such an enemy in the open. He also admitted to his suspicions that the Overlord himself would come to complete his conquest of their world, especially if his army began to falter.

The council concluded with unanimous pledges of support. Darokin already had an army on the way to the Highlands-indeed it was nearly there-as did Alfheim. And while there was no delegate from Rockhome present at this session, Korinn Bear Slayer had made arrangements for a force of dwarvish fighters to defend the Highlands during the siege. They should arrive soon. Thelvyn still had no idea of what he could expect of the vast fighting force that was already on the way from Alphatia, but at least he could be certain they wouldn't join the enemy. He knew that the Ethengar were a scattered, defeated people, living in exile in the hills of northern Rockhome; he could expect no help from that quarter. Of the others, he could only wait and see.

With such matters settled for the moment, Thelvyn was now eager to depart for the west and join his army of dragons. Time was now of the essence; he wanted to begin harassing the army of the Masters, making sudden strikes and retreating again at times and places of his own choosing. Somehow he had to slow the invading army and weaken it as much as possible, and a series of quick, relentless strikes would cripple the enemy most while sparing the strength and numbers of his own dragon warriors. His own job would be to seek out and defeat the leaders among the Masters, since he alone could dare to take on their most powerful fighters with little risk to himself.

The final problem that he had to face before leaving Braejr was dealing with his old companions. Solveig looked unhappy, but her place was there in Braejr with the people she had a duty to lead and protect. Perrantin was already on his way back to Traladara, riding in the saddle of a dragon courier. Sir George looked adamant even before the subject of his going along was discussed.

"We don't have a spare dragon you can ride," Thelvyn told him, approaching the matter cautiously. "All of our dragon saddles are being used by the couriers."

"Well, I don't really need a saddle, do I?" the old knight retorted. "Thanks to the Great One, who in his infinite wisdom has foreseen that you need my help, I can now fly anywhere I want on my own."

"You can't be expected to fight with dragons," Thelvyn insisted. "I know you would have rather been born a dragon, but even the Great One could not grant such a gift."

"I may not be a dragon, but I am dragon-kin, and all dragon-kin have been summoned to this battle in the name of the Dragonking," Sir George countered. "Don't argue with me, lad. I was there when all this started, on the night you were born, and by the beard of Barenthesis, I plan to stay with you until the end."

Thelvyn rolled his eyes, then nodded reluctantly. "Very well, then. Who am I to deny a worthy mandrake a chance to fly with dragons at least once? But if you have anything to pack, you must get it ready at once. And remember that anything you decide to take along, you will have to carry yourself."

The last threat wasn't serious. Thelvyn knew full well that Sir George would need one of the dragons to carry his weapons for him. Although he had regained his power of flight, a drake simply didn't have the speed or the endurance of a dragon, and, even unencumbered, it would be all he could do to keep up. Thelvyn returned to the lair to collect his harness and weapons, which he now wore in addition to the Collar of the Dragons.

Although he had spent the day warning his companions and allies that the coming battle could well be the final one, its outcome likely to decide the fate of their world, he hadn't had time to think much about that fact himself until their flight into the west. While he was by necessity a leader, he was not a general. He wanted to enter every battle with a reasonable certainty of winning. He wanted to know beforehand that most of the advantages belonged to him, or that he had done everything he could to turn the odds in his favor. Now that simply was not the case. He would have to probe his way through what seemed to be an insurmountable problem, winning all the small battles he could and running away from the others.

If he worked at it very hard, if he avoided every mistake he could, and if he was very lucky, he might slowly but steadily turn the enemy's advantage to his own. But he remembered all that he had seen and learned in his journey into the world of the Overlord, and he knew that he was not likely to win this war. He was afraid the dragons would have to pay a fearful price even if they did win. He couldn't forget how their race had nearly been destroyed the last time they had fought the Masters. While he had been made Dragonking for the express purpose of defeating the enemies of his world, he still felt that he had a duty to defend the dragons from danger. He must not let them spend their lives recklessly to help him fight his own battles. He wished there was some way he could send them home and fight the war alone.

The first part of their journey was a fairly short flight to the western mountains of the Wendarian Range, just beyond the borders of the Highland Frontier. Marthaen had been gathering all the dragons of the world in this region, scattering them in a line from the Highland Range to the south to the hills and forests of the north. They were spread out just enough to give each dragon adequate range for hunting, but even so they would need to move on soon before they depleted all the local game. The irony to Thelvyn was that these were the same mountains where the renegade dragons had once pursued his mother to her death, fearing prophecies they did not understand.

The leaders of the dragons had made their main camp in the deep, soft grass of a meadow on the western side of the mountains. The afternoon was fading quickly toward evening by the time Thelvyn arrived, in spite of his efforts to conclude his business in Braejr as quickly as possible. Because there was so much to do and so little time to do it, he was planning to make a brief stop and continue on to the west at once.

"Do the dragons know what has happened these last few days?" he asked Marthaen as they descended toward the meadow, preparing to land.

"They don't know the specific events of your journey," Marthaen told him. "I sent word only that you had returned safely. So far they know only where you went and why."

As they landed in the meadow, Thelvyn was rather surprised to see all the dragons hurry to gather around him. He supposed they were pleased to see that he had not abandoned them to fight their enemies alone. He did look very much the part of the Dragonking, now that he was once again wearing the collar as well as his harness and weapons. He couldn't help feeling gratified to be the object of their appreciation, especially when he recalled how strenuously they had rejected him when he had appeared before the parliament only a few weeks earlier.

"I knew you'd be back!" Jherdar declared, twice as pleased as anyone. "You're too sly to let yourself get trapped."

Thelvyn smiled, realizing that being called sly was undoubtedly a compliment from a red dragon.

"You do look a bit beaten up, if you don't mind my saying so," Jherdar added, watching them with concern.

"I'm afraid I let myself get trapped after all," Thelvyn said, speaking loud enough for all of his lieutenants and advisors to hear. He thought they should know the worst. "I met the Overlord, our true enemy, and it nearly proved to be the end of me. But we got the best of him in the end, and we came away with one important advantage. We now know his secret name, and neither the Overlord nor the Masters can control the will of anyone who knows his name. Now we can go into the coming battle with absolute certainty that they cannot take control of our minds."

The dragons lifted their heads, looking hopeful and talking quietly among themselves. Although no one had ever complained to him about it, he knew that the dragons had been concerned about being dominated by the will of their enemies. Now they could go into battle with much greater confidence.

"I understand that you've summoned every dragon in the world for this battle," Thehvyn continued. "Tell me more about this. What total strength of dragons can we expect, and how many do we have already?"

"The total number will depend upon how many of the renegades show up," Marthaen explained. "Even some of the renegades are responding to the summons, and many of their bands are here already. There are at least six thousand dragons in the world, possibly as many as eight thousand. We have five thousand here now, assembled according to their kingdoms under the leadership of their kings and clerics."

Thelvyn sighed. "All the dragons in the world add up to the population of one medium-sized human town, and we alone stand before this invasion. I wonder how many will live to return home again. Do you have any idea of the strength of the enemy?"

"We've been trying to make some determination of their numbers," Jherdar said, glancing at Sir George. "We have some drakes in our company, small enough to go places we cannot go and act as spies. We cannot expect their reports to be perfectly accurate because of the very size of the invasion force, but they tell us that there are some five hundred gemstone dragons, about forty of the metal warriors, and an additional army of at least a million, consisting of monsters and creatures of various kinds. The columns of their army stretch across the land for miles. That was as of yesterday evening, a full day ago."

Marthaen turned to the Dragonking. "You said their forces are still coming through the gate?"

Thelvyn nodded. "Yesterday evening I was at the stronghold of the Overlord. I saw armies approaching from two directions, lined up to await their turn to pass through the gate. The lines stretched off into the distance for miles. There were thousands more yet to come, possibly hundreds of thousands."

"Then what are we to do?" Jherdar asked. "Our dragons outnumber the Masters, but we have no support to take on such a huge army. All the armies of our world combined cannot hope to defeat an invasion of such size."

Thelvyn considered that quickly. "I don't think we should concern ourselves with their army just yet. As vast as that force may be, it is the least of the problems we have to face. I think the Masters should be our most immediate concern. We must try to trap them or draw them away in small enough numbers that they can be overwhelmed."

Marthaen nodded slowly. "If it weren't for the Overlord, we could win this war easily enough."

"Unfortunately the Overlord is the greatest of our problems, and nothing else we do matters unless I am able to defeat him somehow," Thelvyn said. "If we have any success in fighting the Masters, the Overlord will come to their rescue. And when he comes, I must be ready for him. Our battle alone will decide the fate of our world."

He saw that Kharendaen was watching him, and he knew that she could appreciate just how difficult that battle would be. He wondered if she had also guessed the sacrifice that he might have to make to acquire the strength he would need to defeat the Overlord.