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Port Anitora and the Dragon Ship
by Enly
Edited by Phildaburn, Annatira, and Roja.
Chapter 10: The Stuff of Legends
Sarma surveyed his companions as the distant landmass grew ever nearer. They would reach Whitestone in a matter of only minutes and would land on the beach. Annaeh and Assain stood silently, their dragon blades gripped casually in their hands. Bridden and Narran chatted quietly in the back of the boat, both were outfitted in steel armor. Bridden had a titanium sword slipped through her belt. Narran had a saber clasped in his hand. Taur was by far the most ominous of the group, he wore no armor, only a blood red cape. He leaned on his staff which was topped with a blue stone and watched the boat around him. Sarma knew Taur’s sharp eyes saw everything and processed every detail. Nothing escaped him.
Henau sat quietly peering out the window toward the landmass, which was now very close.
"How many will there be?" Henau asked.
"Many," Assain replied shortly. "And they will all summon giants and other monsters to aid them."
"You just stay on the boat Henau. Yuwon and Hani will never forgive me if you get killed," Bridden said.
"What if you’re all killed and they burn the ship like they plan?" Henau pressed.
No one spoke for a moment, then Sarma quietly murmured. "That won’t happen."
There was no response to his words and the ship was silent as Sarma guided it into the cave and let the orb slowly fall.
Still no sound came from anyone as Sarma pulled open the door and clambered out into the cave. He expected to be attacked immediately, but the cave was empty. The others followed him, except for Henau who was waved back into the vessel when he tried to follow. Henau glared and settled himself down inside the ship again.
Quietly the small war party exited the cave and walked across the water to the shore of Whitestone. Sarma rubbed his hand against his sword's hilt nervously. He wasn’t ready for this.
As Sarma started toward the tunnel under the ridge of rocky hills he heard a voice.
"Stop!" Sarma froze and looked behind at his friends; his heart skipped a beat as he saw nothing. Then he recalled that Taur had promised to make all but Sarma invisible until an attack was launched, so that they could surprise the enemy.
"And so Sarma returns," Sarma whipped around toward the tunnel as Groden emerged from behind some rocks, flanked by nearly fifty quiet humans and elves.
"I do, but I expected a better welcoming committee than you," Sarma growled.
Groden laughed coldly. "Haven’t you heard though Sarma? There’s a bounty on your head for robbing the palace treasury. They want you alive or dead," Groden’s eyes flickered dangerously as Sarma stared.
"I did nothing of the sort! I went to Irilion!" Sarma clamped his mouth shut as he realized Groden knew all this.
"Oh yes, we know that. We just didn’t feel it was terribly important to inform Lord Luxin of it. After all, you are only a gnome. No one will be missing you," Groden smirked at Sarma waiting for a reply.
Suddenly one of the humans next to Groden collapsed to the ground, a bloody gash had sliced across his chest. Groden and the others stared shocked, then all took a step back as Assain and Annaeh advanced on either side of Sarma, now perfectly visible. Bridden and Narran spread out to the right and left, and Taur stood quietly next to Sarma his staff pointed at the now dead man.
What happened after was a flurry of action. Groden and his small army recovered quickly. Lights flashed as giants appeared and lumbered toward the draegoni. Two more of Groden’s company was down in seconds from Bridden’s sword and another followed quickly, smote down by Narran.
Those were short-lived victories, yetis and chimeran wolves cut off their access to the summoners and they were all forced to fight the monsters.
Assain jabbed at a giant, Annaeh behind him. They moved together back-to-back covering the other's weaknesses. Annaeh twisted and slashed at a giant, then skipped backwards as Assain struck down a yeti. Their blades swept in arcs and spun between their fingers as they turned, ducked, stabbed, and sliced. Faster than the eye could follow, the blade would switch from one hand to another and slip past the arms of the monsters.
Bridden danced gracefully between the chimeran’s trying to reach the summoners. She had little luck and was forced to take down the ever-increasing monsters rather than destroy their source. She brought down her sword on one monster’s head, only to be slashed by another on her side. Using her titanium shield as a weapon she waded through the ranks of monsters, getting dangerously close to Groden.
Narran was locked in combat with a particularly adept warrior. The elf had summoned no creatures, but was keeping Narran occupied and preventing him from joining the fight. Narran sliced and parried without as much grace as an elf or draegoni, but with an unfailing strength that forced the elf back against the rocks.
Meanwhile, Taur threw spells at every monster within his range. Chimerans fell in clusters as he cast spells faster than anyone Sarma had ever seen. A stocky human behind Groden attempted to heal some of the monsters, but Taur finished him with a spell.
Sarma himself was busy keeping monsters away from Taur so that he could focus on his magic. None of it mattered, though. No matter how many giants Assain and Annaeh took down, more and more kept appearing. Bridden slew chimerans right and left, but there was an endless flow of them. And Narran was now struggling not only against the elf but two yetis as well.
Sarma continued to slash at the monsters around him and Taur, but his will was fading. All his hard work was coming to an end. The days he had spent slaving away with Clark to make that boat, the empty time of hunger thinking he would die, the joyous weeks on Arius learning all he could about the people of Irilion, it was all wasted. Here they were on a lonely beach in southern Whitestone; no one would ever know what happened. Irilion wouldn’t send any ships after Sarma for fear of what happened to him, Seridia would never know Irilion existed. Selain was finally going to win and Aluwen wasn’t intervening to stop him.
Suddenly Sarma realized he was drifting away from Taur. He tried to move back toward him but a sea of chimerans blocked his way. Sarma began to panic as he realized he was isolated from the rest of the group.
"Not so bold on your own are you Sarma?" Groden taunted as he walked up behind Sarma, flanked by two yetis.
Sarma stumbled as he turned to face Groden, who laughed mockingly.
"Your friends were not expected, but they will be taken care of." Groden drew out a shimmering serpent sword wreathed in purple fire. Sarma took several hurried steps backwards only to trip over a rock and fall unceremoniously to the ground. Groden laughed again and advanced as Sarma crawled to his feet.
Groden lunged bringing his sword down on Sarma, who ducked behind the shield Narran had given him. Groden growled and brought his sword around to Sarma’s right only to be stopped there by his sword. Sarma silently thanked Aluwen that Groden was neither a swift nor talented swordsman. His movements were slow and easily predicted. Sarma barely had time to counter though. He continued to try and move away from Groden but the monsters had formed a rigid circle around the pair, he was trapped. He switched off blocking Groden’s blows between his shield and sword and tried to move toward a narrow gap between the ranks of monsters. Sarma was nervous and terrified and paid no attention where he stepped as he walked backwards. To his humiliation, he stumbled again and fell to the sandy beach.
"You’re pathetic really, can’t even take on a fighter like me. Those two draegoni can at least put up a good fight," Groden ridiculed.
Sarma stared in horror as he watched Groden’s sword follow a slow arc toward his head. He was going to die, the thought finally sunk in to Sarma. He was never going to see Clark again or his newly made friends from Irilion. He was about to die. Sarma clenched his eyes closed but the stroke never fell. Had he been watching, Sarma would have seen a heavy arrow thud into Groden’s shoulder. Sarma jerked his eyes open as he heard Groden cry out and watched the sword fall from his hand.
Standing behind the ranks of monsters, only a little ways down the beach, were five archers raining arrows down on the monsters. Sarma stood and looked around to see that a group of soldiers had poured over the rocky hills and were now cutting down the ranks of Groden’s party.
Groden himself whimpered on the ground behind Sarma. Something more than the arrow through his shoulder afflicted him.
"No, I did it. I had him, I was about to kill him! It’s not my fault!" Groden continued to mutter excuses to some invisible enemy, and Sarma realized he was talking to Selain. Sarma took a hesitant step toward Groden actually feeling pity for the poor human. Groden jumped suddenly to his feet though and ran madly down the beach. Confused, the monsters he summoned tried to follow him, but soon lost track of where he was. Sarma watched fascinated as Groden scrambled into the hills and disappeared behind the rocks.
That was the last time Sarma saw Groden. He heard rumors at times of a deranged summoner wandering Seridia, but never saw him again, or heard any real proof. Sarma turned his attention back to the battle to find his friends. But there was little battle left. The uniformed soldiers of Whitestone had either killed or captured all of Groden’s small army. And the few remaining monsters were quickly slain.
Sarma took several steps toward his friends, who thankfully all stood together with no more than scratches and bruises. He was stopped as two gruff soldiers grabbed his arms.
"You are under arrest for thievery from the Lord of Whitestone," said one of the soldiers. Sarma was dragged over to the other soldiers and his friends. Annaeh stepped forward in front of the humans who held Sarma. He towered above them and glared menacingly down.
"On what charges do you arrest this gnome?" Annaeh growled. The two soldiers who gripped Sarma could do nothing but sputter and stare at the draegoni. Then another soldier walked up, his uniform was slightly nicer than the others and indicated that he was a captain.
"He is arrested for thievery of Lord Luxin’s treasury," the captain stated.
"And when did this thievery occur?" questioned Assain who stood beside his brother.
"Three nights ago," the captain replied.
"I can personally assure you that three nights ago this gnome was further away from Whitestone than you can even imagine," Narran had now taken Sarma’s side as well and stood with the two draegoni. The captain began to reply but another soldier walked up, even more finely dressed than the captain.
"I am General Reddar of Lord Luxin’s army," he nodded his head silently to Sarma’s friends. "I have cleared Sarma of all charges of theft and placed the blame upon the true culprit, Groden Terailidis."
"What proof do you have of this?" the captain question.
"Who are we to argue with the word of the gods?" the General glared at the captain. "Captain, why don’t you escort these messengers of Irilion to Lakeside."
"Yes, sir." The captain unhappily guided Annaeh, Assain, and Narran toward the path through the hills with most of the soldiers. Bridden remained standing with Sarma and the General however.
"May I help you mistress elf?" the general questioned politely.
"You were sent to this beach by Aluwen I presume?" Bridden questioned.
"I was. She appeared to me early this morning while I slept and told me what I needed to do. I am the leader of Aluwen’s followers in Whitestone." Bridden bowed respectfully at the general’s words.
"I am Captain Bridden, Aluwen’s priestess on the continent of Irilion." The general was taken aback and stared in wonder.
"It’s true then, as Aluwen said, that you came from Irilion, that this gnome built a ship that can travel between continents?"
"The goddess does not lie, General Reddar."
The General quietly accepted her words and turned to Sarma.
"You, then, are the gnome that has reconnected our two continents?" he asked.
Sarma nodded quietly.
"Whitestone owes you much, then. I shall send messages to Lord Luxin immediately. You and your friends will be taken to Whitestone city and given the best lodgings we can offer," the General said happily.
"We would be much obliged," Bridden replied politely. "I am afraid that those of us who belong on the continent of Irilion will not stay very long though. Our place is with our people and others will be sent as ambassadors to your Lord."
Sarma’s attention wavered as Bridden and the general continued to talk. He had done it, he had reached the continent of Irillion and returned to tell the tale. Selain and his minion Groden had been defeated and now Sarma would be treated as a hero.
That night Henau and Sarma sat in the Lakeside tavern, their friends around them. Sarma resolved that he did not want to remain in Whitestone long either. He would prefer to ferry people between the two continents.
Over the years, the dragon ship and Sarma became living legends. The ship’s insides were changed to make travel more comfortable and Anitora grew into a thriving market. Assain and Annaeh disappeared to their homeland, though Sarma did see them occasionally as he made journeys across Irilion with his gnomish kin. Bridden and Narran returned to their ship and crew and continued their voyages through Irilion’s seas. Henau returned to his home, but eventually took up residence on Anitora, managing the records of Seridians that came to Irilion. He and Sarma became close friends and worked together for many years.
Sarma was always welcomed as a hero on Seridia and feasts were held in his honor. But he preferred Irilion where he was always welcomed as a friend among the gnomes and indeed many other races. The draegoni were kind to him but never gave him undue attention. The elves of Bridden’s homeland were always cordial and offered lodging, but never showered him with gifts. Sarma even met the empress of the Idal Empire and stayed in her palace. But home for Sarma was always Anitora or among the gnomes of Arius.
For in those places, he was merely Sarma, a simple gnome. To the rest of Draia, though, he was a hero blessed by the gods.
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