many as two hundred gemstone dragons. The Ethengar and the wild herds of the steppes have been fleeing into the mountains of northern Rockhome, so they should survive. But I don't believe we can be ready to face the invaders before they have moved on into Rockhome.'
'I agree,' Thelvyn said. 'For one thing, I want to wait for accurate reports of their numbers. If we can destroy the Masters or force them to retreat, dealing with their army should be a matter of sport.'
'Do you really expect it to be that easy?' Jherdar asked. 'The Masters have to know that we can overwhelm their invasion force. And now that the Dragonking has returned with the collar, they must know that we will be coming after them.'
'Not necessarily,' Thelvyn explained. 'We have one very unexpected advantage. The Masters believe that the dragons have refused my rule and will not go to war. As far as they know, the Dragonking is an exile begging for support wherever he can find it. I suspect that's why they've chosen to attack now, while they believe there's no one in this world willing or able to fight them.'
Jherdar looked impressed. 'How did they arrive at such an inaccurate impression of the situation?'
'Do you recall that spy in Braejr I went to flush out? I fed her some misleading information before I broke her tie with the Masters. I've learned that she actually served someone called the Overlord, who seems not to be a dragon at all. I suspect the Masters are only slaves to the Overlord, but they don't know it.'
'We seem to possess more advantages than I would have expected,' Marthaen remarked.
'We must not deceive ourselves,' Thelvyn warned. 'I may have them fooled, but they may only be leading me to think that I've fooled them. The Masters are experts at conquering worlds. Whole races may be enslaved to serve as their armies. They could open a worldgate and send through a hundred thousand soldiers any time and place they choose. We must be very careful, even if it means that Rockhome must endure a long siege while we gather our strength. If the element of surprise is indeed in our favor, then we must be careful that we do not give ourselves away.'
The others looked thoughtful, even a little subdued. Now that Thelvyn had their support, he wanted them to understand just how serious a threat they faced. Although he didn't speak of it, he knew the dragons weren't used to working together in large numbers, even though they had cooperated reasonably well in their war with Alphatia the year before. But his greatest concern was that they would be overconfident. Except for the Dragonlord, the dragons had never known an enemy that was a serious threat to them, able to stand up to them on their own terms.
'How large a force of dragons can we expect to assemble and take into Rockhome within in a week at most?' he asked.
Jherdar lowered his head, considering his answer. 'We have been gathering an army here since you returned to the west several days ago, and we summoned the kingdoms of the dragons when we first became aware of the invasion of the steppes. Even so, we have little more than a thousand fighting dragons at Windreach. We can have another thousand in three, perhaps four days. Given a full week, perhaps a thousand more.'
'Of course, we cannot have so many dragons assembled in one place for very long,' Marthaen added. 'It is impossible to feed so many.'
Thelvyn nodded. 'Jherdar, do you know the location of the ancient city of Darmouk?'
'No,' Jherdar replied, looking confused and rather surprised at the question. Darmouk was Thelvyn's lair, his property and the stronghold of his hoard, won in battle from the renegade king Kardyer. Another dragon would not dare violate the privacy of his stronghold.
'You'll be able to find it easily enough,' Thelvyn said. 'It would be a very good place to establish our stronghold. I'm considering having you take a force of dragons there in a couple of days.'
'It may be too near Rockhome,' Kharendaen said.
'That's true, but it makes it a very convenient place for a stronghold,' he said, then noticed that the others still looked uncertain. He smiled wryly. 'I appreciate your concern for my rights, but it cannot be helped. We may win this battle, but we still have a long war ahead of us, and the worst is yet to come. We need strongholds for several hundred dragons throughout this part of the world, from the Highlands to
Alphatia. Wherever the Masters might appear, we must be able to get a company of dragons there quickly. They must not catch us by surprise.'
Jherdar bowed his head. 'It will be as you say. And you may be assured that my own bodyguards will stand watch over your treasure.'
'That won't be necessary, I'm sure,' Sir George commented. 'Is anyone likely to try to steal from the Dragonking?'
As soon as their plans were finalized and duties assigned, most of the others hurried away to attend to the preparations for battle. Sir George retired to his own room, one of the spare chambers of the Dragonking's lair that the Eldar had furnished to suit his needs. Thelvyn felt better about the problem of gathering an army, since everything was proceeding much more swiftly and smoothly than he had expected. He was also beginning to have a much higher opinion of his dragons; he had always been under the well-founded impression that dragons could usually be counted upon to be stubborn, contrary, and determined to do everything the hard way. He needed to be able to trust them to serve him willingly and wisely.
Both he and his mate were exhausted after the long flight from the Highlands, and they needed to rest. When Marthaen returned to the chamber after seeing the other dragons on their way, he found that his sister had moved close to Thelvyn's side so that she could rub her cheek along the side of his chest and neck.
'Must the two of you be so boundlessly affectionate?' Marthaen asked, sighing loudly.
Thelvyn knew the older dragon was jesting with him. 'Do not deprive me of my only comfort. What about the dragons? Are they still willing to follow me?'
'I honestly believe you can trust them to follow you,' Marthaen said, sitting back on his haunches and facing the other two. 'They have had a little time to consider what they have learned about the Masters, and they have been forced to admit that they must defend their world in order to defend themselves. The knowledge that the gemstone dragons were responsible for the near destruction of their race at the hands of the first Dragonlord has awakened their desire for vengeance. And they fear that the gemstone dragons look upon them as inferior, easy victims for enslavement. Jherdar and the red dragons are ready and eager for war, and the golds will be responsive to your call.'
Thelvyn nodded, looking weary. 'We have a hard time ahead of us. I wish I could keep my people safe rather than lead them into a possibly hopeless war.'
Marthaen lifted his head. 'Your people?'
'I find myself becoming quite comfortable with the thought of being a dragon,' Thelvyn admitted. 'I wish I had more time to enjoy it, but the dwarves are waiting. Korinn Bear Slayer is sure to have told them we will be coming.'
'You seem certain that the Masters will push on into Rockhome,' Marthaen observed.
'Have you ever wondered why they struck first in the steppes and their next move appears to be to invade Rockhome? Certainly not for the sake of an easy victory; they have to know that they'll have a hard time routing the dwarves from their underground cities. But by taking the steppes and then Rockhome, and possibly pushing on into Alfheim and Tral-adara, they'll break this part of the world into two parts, with them in the middle. Thyatis would be on one side, while Darokin and the Highlands would be on the other. Neither would be able to work together in a common defense.'
Marthaen nodded. 'What do you think will happen when we attack? Will the Masters retreat, or will they open their worldgates and pour through their reserves until they overwhelm us?'
'I honestly do not know what will happen,' Thelvyn had to admit. 'That's why we must gather our strength before we attack. We have to hit them so hard from the outset that they have no choice but to flee. I just hope we have no traitors in our midst telling them our every move.'
Marthaen looked overwhelmed for a moment with surprise and indignation. 'Surely the Masters cannot control dragons,' he said finally.
'You forget that they controlled Murodhir,' Kharendaen told him. 'We must never underestimate them, especially since they seem so willing to underestimate us.'
*****
Korinn Bear Slayer left Stahl at dawn in the same manner in which he had arrived the previous day, by the secret underground passages. But this time he went alone, since all the troops that had been sent on to Dengar
