The zigzag course that had helped to keep them from being seen had made the actual distance of their journey difficult to judge, but he was certain that they must be nearing their destination. They were entering an area of more hospitable land, highland plains divided by scattered ranges of low, steep mountains. As before, every small piece of reasonably level ground was neatly laid out in meticulously cultivated fields and pastures. They were even surprised to see terraces built into the eastern sides of the ridges and peaks, apparently the direction that caught what little rain might be carried on the seasonal winds.
Thelvyn had never seen anything quite like this. The fields had been laid out with absolute attention to detail for efficiency, perhaps from many long years of preparing the terraces, dikes, and the high, thick stone walls that served as windbreaks, with enclosed tubes atop the walls that apparently served as aqueducts to carry precious water. He was surprised to see no evidence of villages or towns, or even farmhouses scattered among the fields. The only buildings he saw appeared to be barns and sheds and occasional barracks, all built of heavy stone.
The dragons flew as fast as they could and as low as they dared over the fields, two dark forms passing swiftly in the dim starlight through the haze of dust. Mile after mile streaked past below them, all neatly laid out in dark squares. From time to time, they would rise quickly to pass over a ridge of low mountains, or drift to one side to fly around a lone peak of stone rising like an island out of the patterns of fields. So far they had seen no living creature except for the beasts in the pastures. At first Thelvyn found it odd that, in a nation of armies, there were no forts or guard stations to protect the fields. Indeed, it seemed that no watch whatsoever was kept over the fields. Finally he realized that since this was a land with no real enemies, there was no reason to guard the land.
He could only hope that meant the Masters held no fear of invasion or the intrusion of spies, but he knew better than to feel a false sense of security. He had invaded their world once before, and he seemed to have caught them less prepared than they would have liked, but he was surprised they hadn't taken more precautions after his previous incursion into their land.
The dragons were caught completely by surprise when they climbed steeply to pass just above an especially high ridge and found themselves almost within the main stronghold of the Overlord. Circling around sharply and dropping the sails on the bases of their tails to slow themselves, they darted back into the protection of the deep shadows among some massive boulders alongside the ridge. Only then did they dare to look around to check whether or not they had been seen and take a closer look at the fortress.
The stronghold had been built within the protection of a natural ring of stone, at a place where the three different ridges joined to form an almost complete circle around the encampment. From inside the ring, the valley vaguely resembled a vast crater, twenty miles or more across, but formed in an irregular shape that was more square than round and open on the corners facing to the southeast and southwest. The floor of the valley within the ring was perfectly flat, although there was no way to know if it had been made that way by natural processes or by deliberate design. The entire surface within the ring appeared to be either paved or occupied by some imposing structure.
The stronghold itself was actually an entire complex of great fortresses, neatly arranged in the same carefully laid grids as the fields, centered around an immense paved square that was probably nearly a mile long on each side. The fortresses were all nearly identical in form, solid, almost featureless structures built of gray stone that had been cut into vast, smooth-sided blocks. Distance was deceptive because the fortresses were so simple in design, being nothing more than massive straight-sided buildings without towers or turrets. When Thelvyn considered the size of the valley itself, he realized that each fortress was nearly the size of a small town, covering an area of nearly a square mile.
But it was the activity in the central square that caught his attention. A great arch of black stone stood in the very middle of the square, an oval that was large enough for both Kharendaen and he to have flown through side by side. The archway opened into a pit of utter darkness. Thelvyn could make out little detail because he could see the arch of stone almost directly from one side, but he had no doubt that this was a worldgate of tremendous size. Whole armies had gathered in the square, neatiy arranged in silent companies as each awaited its turn to advance to the gate. Scores of gemstone dragons were stationed between the companies scattered about the square, or stood about the gate itself. The gate was so large that, even as he watched, three of the Masters came through one after the other, passing on the wing just above a line of freight wagons passing through in the opposite direction.
As he watched from his place of hiding, Thelvyn began to despair of ever being able to fight the army of the Masters, even if he had every dragon alive under his command. The Masters had already lost perhaps a hundred thousand warriors and fighting beasts in their sieges of Rockhome and the Highlands. Ten times that number were gathered in the square below and in hundreds of companies waiting in lines miles long on the roads leading through the two main passes of the ring of mountains. Thelvyn counted at least a score of the immense metal warriors like the one that he had tried to fight outside Braejr. One of the warriors advanced slowly toward the worldgate, following closely behind a line of freight wagons. As impossibly vast as that walking mountain of steel was, the gate was large enough that the metal monster could simply step through the passage.
Thelvyn could not even begin to guess how many fighters and weapons and how many supplies had already been sent through the gate. Companies of warriors and lines of wagons continued along both of the approaching roads for as far as he could see in the dusty darkness. Nor did he have any idea of the true numbers and strength of the Masters themselves. He knew that his own world could not hope to put together an army large enough to face this one, certainly not in the short time available.
'Now I know how they've been able to conquer whole worlds,' Thelvyn whispered in awe.
'Remember, they've never had to fight dragons before,' Kharendaen remarked, trying to be encouraging. 'Or Immortals, for that matter.'
'I know now why the Great One thought we were wasting our time trying to fight a defensive war,' he said, sitting up. 'We can't hope to fight such an awesome army. But if we can defeat the Overlord, all the rest should simply fall apart.'
'As easily as all that, Little One?' a strange, deep voice asked, speaking to them as if from the air.
The dragons started, alarmed to realize they had been discovered. In the first instant, they obeyed their fierce instincts, arching their backs and necks as they prepared to fight their unseen enemy. Then Thelvyn's heart sank into despair as he realized he had heard that same voice once before. It was the voice of the Overlord.
Already he realized his mistake. He had underestimated his enemy. The Overlord was said to have the powers of an
Immortal, and here, in his own world, his powers would be at their greatest. Here he was secure, a being of magic rather than mortal form, his mind and will able to be anywhere and everywhere in an instant. In this place, he was indeed almost a god, and Thelvyn's powers as both Dragonlord and Dragonking were very slight in comparison.
In the next moment, Thelvyn and Kharendaen felt almost as if some great, unseen hand had reached out to take them up, drawing them in an instant into the very heart of the Overlord's innermost stronghold. The ridge where they had been hiding was left behind; suddenly they found themselves standing on the smooth stone floor of what seemed to be some vast chamber. The walls and ceiling of the chamber were hidden from them, lost behind the cold, dark mists that surrounded them. But they knew that they were not alone. Standing back to back, they guarded each other as best they could, their heads darting back and forth as they watched the creeping mists. After a moment, they became aware of the large, glittering eyes of the gemstone dragons peering at them out of the darkness.
A portion of the dark mists began to move and take form, slowly becoming the long, horrible face of the Overlord glaring down at them, still mostly hidden in the mists. He gloated over the easy defeat of his greatest enemy, captured with little more effort than a thought.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Thelvyn had to force down a sense of panic. He had to suppress the instinct of a dragon to react with fear and a sudden snap of desperate fury when pressed too closely by another, amplified many times over by the terror that faced him. He knew litde of the legends and superstitions of the dragons, but he felt certain that the great,
