Tender Mercies: Book 1 - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

A Good Day to Die

Flies buzzed loudly enough to be heard scores of feet away. Vultures and crows squawked and battled with each other over the choicest morsels. Here a plucked eyeball, there a juicy piece of liver. Some distance away, easily a hundred yards, the allied army had dug in and their archers watched impassively as the carrion was feasted upon. On the other side lay the great chasm that had made the massacre possible. Over it lay another army, greater then the first one, though clearly not so organized.

Some of the more attuned birds sensed something coming, and quickly took to the air seeking escape. A low hum that could be sensed and felt more then heard began to grow. More birds flew, leaving only the most resilient behind to feast unhindered. Soon came the blackness, rolling across the chasm like great storm clouds, yet low to the ground and filled with a malign purpose.

A single bird remained as the darkness overtook it. It looked about, startled suddenly, but unable to see anything in the impenetrable murk. A great roar then built, coming from far off but growing louder and louder. Seeking safety at last, it flapped its wings and took to the air. To late. An arm shot towards it, grabbing its legs. The vulture squawked and tore at the arm with its beak, adding to the missing flesh and blood already present. The vulture was pulled back down then, and the other arm came across to tear its head off in a flutter of feathers.

Rising from its resting place, the light elven corpse stared through the murk with a baleful red light in its empty eye sockets. Taking one shuddering step, then another, it advanced towards the allied army. All around it, similar scenes were taking place. Already slain once, the dead were rising to fight again.

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Signaling, Nordan directed several dragons to break off and flank. As they closed with Ancaruin, the fear and awe washed over them. Had it not been for the incredible hatred the metallic dragons bore for Ancaruin, his mere presence alone may have defeated them. As it was, Nordan alone was on Fyrentennimer's back, leading the charge at the dragon.

"It is a good day to die, eh dragon?" Nordan cried out happily. Wind ripping through his long unkempt hair, one hand bracing him upon Fyrentennimer's back and the other holding his hammer cocked back to throw. Fyrentennimer snorted and climbed higher, trying to gain altitude on Ancaruin.

Ancaruin bellowed a challenge then, and had it returned by the good dragons racing to confront him. He eyed the gold dragon with the human on its back with contempt, and considered dispatching them first. It changed its target then, however, and exhaled a mighty cone of flames. The fire swept over 3 dragons below and behind Fyrentennimer, two copper ones and one silver, and consumed them wholly. Already dead, their flaming corpses fell lifelessly from the sky to crash amidst the raging battle below.

Battle was joined then, with Fyrentennimer cutting loose with its own fiery breath and Nordan hurtling his hammer with a deadly accuracy. The flames washed over Ancaruin, but left him uninjured. The hammer struck true as well, the resonating thunder from the strike spreading rapidly. Ancaruin appeared unaffected by the hammer strike as well, however, in spite of it smiting him soundly upon the back of the neck.

Luingirth and Kelnozz struck then, with Luingirth's electrically charged breath blackening the scales upon Ancaruin's side, then closing enough for Kelnozz to leap free from the blue dragon's back onto Ancaruin's. Moving quickly to a place where he could grab on should Ancaruin decide to flip, Kelnozz lashed out with his longswords. His older blade, while still sharp enough to sever a man's head with a flick of his wrist, did little damage to the mighty wyrm. His newer longsword had an easier job of it, powered by the lost elven magics of long ago.

Joining the fray late, Martin fired arrows from his bow so rapidly it seemed a solid line of them. The silver dragon he rode upon supplemented his missile fire with its own brand of breath weapon, which was a cone of frost very similar to that employed by white dragons. Other dragons charged in, using their impressive breath weapons on Ancaruin, hoping that each of theirs would be the one to strike that critical injury.

When the first barrage of attacks was done, Ancaruin still flew. More, he seemed barely fazed by the powerful assaults against him. Twisting in mid air, Ancaruin grappled with a gold dragon and tore great wounds in it with his claws. He roared in annoyance at the incessant stream of arrows from Martin's bow that bounced harmlessly off of the armored scales about its head. Kelnozz left his less powerful sword sticking in the chink between the scales he had found and clutched with his right hand to the spines upon Ancaruin's back to keep from falling off.

The battle raged on both above and below. The gold dragon Ancaruin had seized fell lifeless from his claws only moments later, yet the metallic dragons attacked again and again. Careful of Kelnozz on Ancaruin's back, the struck out with tooth and claw more often then with magic. Martin's arrows continued to be useless, though they did serve as a minor distraction and annoyance. It was that annoyance, however, that soon got the dragon he rode killed, its chest slashed open in a single mighty blow from Ancaruin's talons. Leaping desperately, Martin managed to catch Ancaruin's wing and take two desperate steps to its back, to crouch alongside Kelnozz.

"Better hold on!" Kelnozz shouted over the din of battle. Just in time, for Ancaruin twisted again, trying to dislodge them as well as close on a brass dragon that had just struck out at it.

A few more tense minutes of battle passed, with dragons weaving in and out of the skies, fighting for altitude, advantage, and an opening to strike. Nordan's hammer continued to strike home, blasting into Ancaruin's flesh time and again. Likewise, good dragons continued to fall to their deaths below. The count was soon up to eight good dragons slain by the powerful red, with Ancaruin only beginning to show signs of being injured.

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"Watch where yer aiming those things!" Throin yelled towards the battle above. A copper dragon had fallen nearby, sending nearly a score of dwarves to their deaths. It had also crushed a good number of the undead that fought against them, but that was little consolation to the dwarven king.

Studying the battle in the skies for a few moments, Throin felt himself grow amazed. An old dwarf by any standard, he thought he had seen it all. From wars to veins of pure mithril, nothing put him in awe anymore. Nevertheless, he had to admit that the beauty of all the metallic dragons flying through the air above was a sight he was glad to behold. He was not glad when one fell from the sky, however, for it meant that Ancaruin had killed again. He frowned as a silver dragon fell from the sky, angling into the undead to take as many with it as possible in its last few moments of life.

Nodding his head respectfully, Throin spit in his hands and grabbed up a hand axe in each hand. Crying out in the dwarven tongue, he rallied his men yet again, hacking away at the mindless undead before them. Undead were funny things to fight. They did not know fear or pain, nor did they lust for life and survival. Instead they sought only to kill time and again, depriving what was still alive from that very thing. Hacking the leg off a zombie meant little to the zombie, for it still had hands to claw with and a mouth to bite. Only by chopping them into ineffective pieces could the problem be solved, and so few of the younger dwarves and elves understood that. Let alone the humans, they were truly terrified!

"Bring the oil!" Throin called out, hacking the head from a zombie with half the flesh missing from its face. Behind him, dwarves hurried to load the catapults that had moved up with the army with the oil. In a few moments they were ready, and the call came through the ranks to that effect. "Fire the damned things!" Throin ordered finishing off the dismembering of another zombie.

Six catapults fired. Kegs of oil flew through the air and crashed into the rear ranks of the undead. Burning pitch followed moments later, and the oil was soon ablaze. The undead caught in it followed suit, burning so fiercely that they crumpled to the ground in seconds.

"Charge!" Throin called out, running forward with both axes raised. The dwarves nearest him followed their leader into battle, and moments later, those further out did as well. The elves and humans followed suit after a few moments, realizing what it was that the dwarf meant to do.

Slowly, the undead were pushed back. The loss of life was great, but greater was the number of undead destroyed. Caught between the hammer of the Belurian army and the anvil of the growing flames, the undead were quickly being destroyed. Casks of oil continued to be fed into the flames as well, increasing the heat and the damage they inflicted.

All to soon it was over. Throin glanced about, looking for a new target for his hand axes, and was almost disappointed to not find any. Looking at himself, he was covered in gore. He grimaced in disgust when he saw the severed hand stuck in his side, still trying to dig at him. He grabbed it and threw it into the flames, then called for a retreat to let the fire do its work.

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With the defeat of the undead on the valley floor below, something seemed to happen above as well. With sixteen metallic dragons slain, nevertheless Ancaruin was showing signs of weariness. Nordan's hammer continued to pound away at him, as did both Martin and Kelnozz when opportunity allowed them to strike out. Reacting slower and his strikes weaker, Ancaruin began to realize that he may not win the day. Outraged at the outcome of the battle, he nevertheless had not grown to be over ten thousand years old by acting foolishly. He turned and began to retreat then, taking both Kelnozz and Martin with him as unwilling passengers.

As soon as it became obvious that Ancaruin meant to return to his army, Kelnozz and Martin both began attacking feverishly. Annoyed to the last by them, Ancaruin's head turned on his sinuous neck and he opened his mouth so that he could cleanse his back of them once and for all with mighty flames.

"Jump!" Nordan screamed at them from a nearby Fyrentennimer's back. He threw his hammer as well as following his own advice. Kelnozz and Martin looked up and saw what was about to happen, and followed suit as well.

Fyrentennimer's flames washed over Ancaruin's head, blinding him temporarily. Nordan's hammer had already disappeared after it had struck the mighty dragon in the snout to reappear in Nordan's hand. The gold dragon then latched onto Ancaruin's back, seizing his wings in his hands and biting down cruelly on Ancaruin's neck.

No match for Ancaruin physically, Fyrentennimer nevertheless held on. The mighty red strove to throw the gold dragon from his back, but found his weakening body unable to do the task. He did manage to tear its neck away from Fyrentennimer's maw, and return the bite, but the more immediate danger had escaped him.

Feeling his lifeblood leaking into Ancaruin's mouth, Fyrentennimer nevertheless felt glad to know that he had played an important part in the battle. Ancaruin wondered why his foe was not struggling, and realized to late what it had been doing all along. Ancaruin struggled anew to free itself, but even had it been able to do so, it would have been to late. The ground rushed up at the plummeting dragons, for with Ancaruin's wings bound up in Fyrentennimer's hands and Fyrentennimer intent upon driving the larger red to the ground, gravity was an undeniable force.

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The sound of Ancaruin and Fyrentennimer crashing into the valley floor was loud enough to be heard for miles around. The mere force of the impact sent men stumbling to their knees throughout the valley. The crater it left was great as well, and from it, nothing could have survived. In spite of that, a great red scaly claw reached up and over the edge. It rested upon the edge and strove to get a purchase. Then it relaxed, sliding back into the newly formed crater.

Luingirth landed a few minutes later, before the running dwarves, elves, and humans could reach it. From his back dropped Kelnozz, and Martin. As one they approached the side of the crater and looked down, seeing the two massive forms lying intertwined in death.

Speaking to one another in a way that only dragons could, Luingirth and Fyrentennimer had hatched the plan that had just succeeded. While Fyrentennimer would tie up and distract Ancaruin, Luingirth would fly just below him to catch the companions while they jumped. It had worked well, save that Martin had jumped off the wrong side and been missed. It was a harrowing plunge for Luingirth, Kelnozz, and Nordan to make, but they had managed to catch Martin in time.

Now they looked at the gravesite of the eldest and most powerful dragon ever to live on Viconia. Also, the grave of the bravest and most noble dragon. Twisted about one another, one keeping the other at bay.

"Is that it then?" Throin said a few moments later, staring down at them with a grin.

"Aye friend, it's over," Kelnozz said, knowing it was not.

"Bah, there's an army over that chasm! They've yet to be dealt with!" Nordan pointed out.

"With Ancaruin destroyed and Alesha missing, they have nothing to hold them together," Martin said, understanding the look in Kelnozz's eye. "But you're not finished with it yet, are you Kel?"

Kelnozz smirked. "Not yet, I need to find Alesha and make sure none of this happens again."

"I have another offer for you Kelnozz."

Not recognizing the voice, all of them turned about to see who was speaking to the dark elf. A group of beings walked towards them, coming down from the very skies to stand in front of them. Three of them stood there, each resplendent and clearly divine. A man wearing some sort of fantastical leathers, with a bastard sword at each side and one upon his back, as well as an obviously magical bow. Another man wearing shining full plate mail, with the visor up to reveal a ruggedly handsome face. And the final man they knew well, for it was Helmut standing with them.

"Helmut, what is this?" Nordan asked, stepping forward.

Helmut grinned and shimmered before their very eyes. Now he appeared much taller, beating even Nordan by enough to boast a height in excess of seven feet. Shining brown hair that came to his shoulders, bright green eyes, and a grin that defied them all. On his back, instead of the two handed sword they had seen Helmut use, was a hammer that looked like a copy of Nordan's.

"Son, I am Garrick Hammerthane, not Helmut Helmsmasher. Nor are you a Helmsmasher, though you bore the name proudly," Garrick said, his grin still evident.

"And I have heard you speak to me many times as well, grandson," The woodsman of the trio said, looking at Martin.

Martin's jaw dropped and he fell to his knees, "Grandfather!" He whispered, tears springing to his eyes when he saw the man had one arm fashioned from mithril, just as he did.

Kelnozz looked back and forth between them all. Fair enough, he supposed, Martin and the man claiming to be Carson bore a strong resemblance, as did Nordan and Garrick. But that did not explain the other strange visitor, the one that had spoken to him.

"And who are you, looking so regal and important?" Kelnozz said dryly.

"I am Celos Lyonsbane, you have done me a service as well, elf, by returning one who had fallen from my grace to me. He wishes you well, and considers you his truest friend in life," the third God said.

"All well and good, but that's hardly a reason for you all to visit us just to say hi," Kelnozz returned, his suspicions rising.

"Ha! You never change, elf - even when facing Gods you're still an ass!" Helmut laughed loudly, causing Kelnozz to blush slightly but not deflecting his curiosity.

"You are right, Kelnozz, all of you we have watched, and at times helped. But more so, you have been tested. All of you had to overcome personal weakness. You're skills and understanding have grown greatly, we have chosen you worthy of new roles in life, if you would accept them." Celos studied each man for a few brief seconds, staring deeply into their eyes.

"What would you have of me, Grandfather?" Martin had regained his feet but the look of pride upon his face was unmistakable.

"Take my place, Martin," Carson said, a twinkle in his eye. "Take my place as the God of the woodlands, I have done it for a long time now and I fear that I am tired of it. I yearn to just be a simple man again, alone in nature or perhaps sitting with friends in a quiet tavern gambling."

Martin's eyes grew wide and his lips parted. He looked to his companions, stunned and looking for help.

"I am much the same, Nordan, I have done this to long and known power to great, I feel no challenge anymore. My position is yours, if you will have it," Garrick clapped Nordan on the back, knocking him out of his own moment of stunned surprise.

"No," Kelnozz said, staring at Celos, "I'm not interested in becoming a God!"

Celos chuckled then, his stern demeanor cracking. "Worry not, dark one, the offer was not extended. You have no divine blood within you, nor are there any willing to relinquish their roles in the pantheon. To you falls a different decision. You have been the champion of the elves, now you have the option of becoming Viconia's chosen one."

"Chosen one?" Kelnozz said, his mouth dry. "Is this a tournament?"

"Nay, far from it. Alesha was chosen by Bavorish and the other fey Gods, and it was a choice she was seduced into, yet she made it of her own will. To you goes the same choice."

"Ancaruin is slain, Alesha is no longer on this world," Kelnozz said, "what would you need of me?"

"I'll do it!" Nordan suddenly said, a look of childlike wonder in his eyes. Kelnozz glanced at him, realizing that both Nordan and Martin were caught in their own decisions, and paid no attention to what Celos and he were discussing.

"Very well, Nordan, then let the power be yours," Garrick, grinned happily and shook his sons hand. When Nordan gripped it, he was suddenly overwhelmed as what had been his life suddenly changed.

To his right, Kelnozz saw Martin undergoing the same transformation. He had missed hearing him accept the offer, but he knew instantly that Martin would take it. His companions were no longer mere friends and travelers, but something far greater. That left Kelnozz with his own troubles.

"What say you, elf?" Celos asked again.

"Let me think on it, hopefully I will know by the time I return," Kelnozz said, uncertain of his own wishes.

"Return from where?" Celos asked, surprised for perhaps the first time in his tenure as the God of Duty and Loyalty.

"From Earth," Kelnozz said casually. "I believe that is where Alesha has gone back too, if she is not stopped, she will return."

Celos smiled then, for he could see that Kelnozz was already filling the role he had hoped for. "Well enough, Kelnozz, seek out the Tavern of the Broken Axe, I believe it has a door in Sanctuary."

Kelnozz was a little puzzled by Celos' words, but he chose not to speak of them. He figured the less time spent with a God, the less chance he had of getting himself in trouble. "My thanks," he offered instead.

"How will you let us know of your decision?" Celos asked.

Kelnozz smirked, "I'll find a way, don't worry."

Celos nodded, a hint of a smile on his face as well. He turned to leave then, but stopped, as if torn with indecision. Finally he spoke again. "Know this, Kelnozz, this world is far from safe. Ancaruin is dead, but not destroyed."

Kelnozz opened his mouth to ask what Celos meant, but the God had already turned on him again and began to walk away. In moments, he disappeared altogether. Kelnozz turned then to his companions - former companions, that is. They to were leaving him without a word. So caught up in their new roles were they, they had forgotten themselves.

"Well then, what now?" Kelnozz said, seeing Garrick and Carson watching Nordan and Martin disappear.

"For me, a game of chance, some fine wine, and a willing woman!" Carson said, laughing lightly and heading back towards the army.

"A good plan," Garrick said, nodding thoughtfully. "But after what I went through with Alesha, I think I'd like to help you give that bitch some payback! What say you elf, care for a friend on the road?"

Kelnozz chuckled. "Barbarians tend to get me in trouble," he muttered. "But, for a relative of Nordan's, how could I say no?"

"First, I must be sure that Ancaruin's army is done with. Then I must find his lair and return the stone to the dragon portal to release the Forbidding. Then we can go after Alesha."

"Look then, elf, and know that the first two quests are taken care of," Garrick said.

Kelnozz followed his outstretched arm and saw that the evil army had indeed begun breaking up. Several fights had broken out, but for the most part, the orcs, elves, giants, ogres, and others were going back home. Ancaruin had been the only thing that had held them together, and with him slain, they had no great fear to keep them.

"What of the gem? You said two quests were fulfilled?"

"Ancaruin himself was the fifth gem. Instead of infusing an item with the power of the key, he took it into himself," Garrick explained. "By slaying him, that power is released and the final lock on the forbidding undone."

Kelnozz looked to where the metallic dragons were recovering from their wounds. Though it was a distance away, they did indeed look to be resting easier. Satisfied, he nodded to Throin, who stood by stoically, in spite of all that had happened.

"King Throin, would you have someone find Vallanius and tell him of what occurred. I will be back," Kelnozz paused for a moment then grinned. "Sooner or later, that is! For now, I have to finish this before the people of Belurian can begin to worry about what comes next."

Throin scowled, but nodded. Then he started chuckling, something rare in a dwarf. "Aye elf, get ye gone, me boys will take care of it!"

Throin turned to leave, then came back around and looked at Garrick, "Ye made a fine God, Garrick, tis me pleasure to meet ye."

Throin left then, with Garrick grinning like a fool with Kelnozz. "Come dragon, let's be on our way!" Luingirth snorted in derision, but lowered himself down regardless.

"I've never ridden a blue one before," Garrick said to himself as he hopped onto Luingirth's back. "Hey elf, you don't need the key, but I do know where Ancaruin's lair is - "

Kelnozz smirked, a little touch of a dragon horde that had treasures from other worlds did seem like a fitting way to celebrate. "Tell Luingirth the way, my friend, a bit of a diversion along the way can't hurt!"

Continued in Chapter 19

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