Dragon Hero II: Bounty of the Blood Witch Read online

  Prologue

  The elvin city of Celvanis was quiet that night. Most of the elves had retired to their homes and the palace stood quietly as the light from the two moons shone down on it through the gaps in the trees. The two guards outside stared off and let their minds wander. There hadn’t been any real visitors since the incident with the theft of the cursed dragon boots. One of the guards let out a big yawn and the second guard mimicked him. The guard’s eyelids felt heavy and soon they became too exhausted and fell to the ground in a deep slumber.

  A woman in black leather and a large, black cloak walked into view. Her face was covered by a red mask that showed her crude grin and menacing eyes. She brandished a scythe with a short handle. The blade of the scythe was decorated with runes, shapes of skulls and other dark symbols. The strange woman walked up to the door that was now only watched by two sleeping guards. She glanced at them and walked inside.

  Inside was a lavish room with a healthy assortment of plants and a large fancy staircase leading from the opposite side of the doorway. An elf in fancy clothing took notice of her and walked up to her. “Um, what are you doing here?” the elf asked. Without a word, the strange woman spun and used a roundhouse kick on the elf’s face. The man was knocked out cold and fell to the floor. She stared at him through her mask and then knelt down to search his pockets. She pulled out what she wanted; a set of keys. She turned her attention to a door slightly hidden away at the side of the large room.

  Through the door was a stairway that spiraled downward. The intruder quietly walked down. She reached a heavy door that was expectedly locked. She calmly sifted through the keys and until she found the one that unlocked it. Beyond the door, she found a long, lantern-lit hallway. There were more doors but she didn’t even glance at them; just kept moving all down the hall. She stopped at a large door, paused for a moment then searched for another key. After putting the key in the lock, she calmly turn the knob. The masked woman leaned on the wall and prodded the door ajar with her scythe. As soon as the door opened, a bolt of lightning shot out. Shortly after the blast, the woman charged in. The first thing visible in the room was a statue of a bird with a pulsating orb in its mouth. The masked woman grunted as she slashed at the orb with her weapon. The blade of the weapon started to glow a dull red as it cut the orb in half. The pulsation radiating from the orb soon vanished after another small outburst. She grunted again and angrily decapitated the statue. She took a deep breath as the head of the bird statue fell to the floor.

  Further inside the room were six short pillars against the wall, three on each side of the masked woman. On all but the far right pillar was a large glass case that held items inside. She quietly walked along the display cases and glanced at the objects inside. One displayed a bundle of scrolls, another held a strange sword with runes on it, one had a ring, another a large tome, and lastly, a small demon-looking statue. The woman stopped and gazed at the case with the large tome. She let her fingers slide against the glass. The book appeared to be of heavy leather with etchings burned into it. She took a step back and reached into a pouch on her belt. She pulled out a small crystal, and looked back at the glass case.

  She broke the case open with a swipe of her scythe. She held the crystal tightly in her hand as she walked toward the book. As she began to chant in a strange language, the crystal started to glow brightly. She released the crystal which floated between her and the tome. She kept chanting as the book raised in the air and burst open. The pages began to turn rapidly on their own. A beam of light shot out from the book toward the crystal. The tome was engulfed in a beam of light from the crystal as if it would be sucked inside. The beam of light was then shot at the forehead of the masked woman. Her body jolted and she let out a loud gasp as the light shot at her. She stood as if in a trance with slight twitches in her fingertips. The light faded and the masked woman fell to the floor. The sound of an alarm filled the air as the elves marched down the stairs.

  The masked woman slowly got to her feet. She grasped her scythe blade from the floor and began to laugh manically. The door down the hall opened as several guards poured through. The masked woman turned toward them and let out a chuckle. The guards came running down the hall at her. They were yelling with their weapons drawn. The masked woman stood in front of the doorway and waited for them to get closer. The guards stopped and pointed their blades at her, “Halt, thief!” The masked woman tilted her head and laughed in a sadistic manner. She hurled her scythe blade at them which detached a thin long chain from the handle.

  The blade spiraled rapidly and decapitated the first guard. The others ducked out from under it. The blade stopped behind the group of guards and floated there in the air. The masked woman chanted briefly as her right hand created a yellow glow which pulsated from her hand and into the hilt of the blade. The chain began to glow and caused a bolt of lightning all the way down the chain to the blade. It flew out toward one of the guards as it shot down the chain. Each zap made a guard yell out in pain as it hit. Several of the guards fell to the floor. The woman chuckled and pulled back the handle of her scythe and the blade spun back into the hilt.

  She walked down the hall while stepping over the guards. One of the guards struggled to lift his head and asked, “Who are you?” The masked woman stared at the wounded elf in her mask with a large grin. She didn’t say a word to him, just a chuckled as she swung her blade at him and ended his life. She turned down the hallway and glanced at her blade which was now coated in blood. She slid her finger on the blade and stared at the blood on her fingertip. She rubbed her fingers together as if she was testing the texture of a blood. She let out a loud maniacal laugh and ran to the stairs.

  As she climbed back up to the main room, she encountered two more guards who fell victim to her laughter and her blade. She darted out of the main room and out the large doors leading outside. She ran a few feet and encountered more elves. These hooded, green robed elves were equipped with bows and arrows. They surrounded her on all sides. Scanning around, she started laughing. She leaned back and began to chant. Before the archers could shoot her, a strange yellow glow engulfed her. The glow grew brightly and exploded with a bright flash. As soon as the flash disappeared, she did too.

  The elvin sentry searched all over for her but found no trace. A team was organized to investigate the crime. They found the dead elves and a small burnt-looking crystal on the floor of the room where the tome disappeared. The team reported this and gave the burned-out crystal to the elvin consul. The three members of the elvin consul whispered to one another while studying the crystal. After receiving all the information that the team found they looked at each other. One of them muttered, “She has taken the book of Scrathelm!”

  Chapter 1

  “Blake, do you know where my earrings are?” asked Talestria while hunting through her closet. I was busy trying to reduce a cowlick in my hair. “Which ones? The silver twisty kind?” I chuckled under my breath. It still feels weird. It’s been several months since I was summoned into this world by Xum’gol. I am already married to a dark elf who can reduce her foes to bone and ash. Talestria is great. She can be a bit crazy and has a mean temper, but she is very smart and sweet to me.

  Our courtship was really interesting because her customs are a bit weird. I spent my nights in a tent in the castle courtyard while spending thirty days doing chores and jobs for her. Sometimes I cleaned moss from the small gatehouse, and sometimes I shoveled chogul remains. It’s a strange but interesting custom. The future groom proves his worth by basically being a slave for the future bride. The girl proves her worth by giving a gift, and Talestria’s gift was really cool.

  Tale
stria started tossing things out of her closet searching for her earrings. I fixed the cowlick and started adjusting her wedding gift to me. It is fancy plate armor that looks cooler than the dragon armor. It is much heavier but not as powerful. Talestria made refinements to an older suit that she had lying around the castle. There are tons of crazy things here, but I’ll get into that some other time.

  Any section of the armor that isn’t covered by big black plates has dark chain mail mesh filling in weak points. The shoulder piece has one blade-like curve that arches up. At the shoulder piece are metal rings to hang a custom cape. The helmet has a strange eye slit and on the mouth section is a fine vent to make breathing easier. The vent can detach so the helmet doesn’t need to be removed to eat. It has one blade running straight down the back of the helmet like a Mohawk, and two curved blade pieces going upward then down towards the center. Because of its design the helmet causes my voice to echo and distort. There are no enchantments on any of the armor pieces.

  Our wedding was interesting. The ceremony was held in the castle courtyard; the same courtyard where I lived for a great deal of time and cleaned the area. Jerak, Bolam, Teltar, and even Falstrid attended. There were some high ranking dark elves as well. Clagmir wasn’t able to come but did send his gift with Falstrid. Clagmir still couldn’t believe the whole situation. I was having trouble comprehending it. A high clergyman married us, attended by several priestesses and mages from the dark elf city of Silmuth. The mages highly respect Talestria and still fear her a bit. Some of the priestesses dislike Jerak since he tried some bad moves on them. It was a nice, small wedding. We’ve been married for a while now. I’ve lost track of days since there is no calendar and I don’t yet understand the seasons.

  “Ha! Found them!” Talestria cheered. I knew she’d left a huge mess in the bedroom searching for the earrings. She’s the type to jump into a situation, often leaving a bigger problem in her wake. She is very brilliant, a little mysterious and kind of goofy, and I love her. She doesn’t often get mad, but she will speak her mind if I screw up something. I try my best not to tick her off, although, it will happen, I just hope it won’t leave a crater. She has some weird manners and always dresses nicely, and I think she sometimes acts like royalty. Years of being a loner have made her unaware of others manners. She’s a bit too proud of her burps, especially around me. I don’t mind, because I like competing with her. She doesn’t cook very well, which is why she enchanted a golem for that task. Thankfully I know how to cook. Often, she volunteers to make a meal which either becomes overcooked, undercooked, or packed with so many spices that I wish there were antacids in this world.

  Married life isn’t bad, at least in this early phase. I’ve tried to make myself useful by cleaning up her messes when she is trying out new alchemy. Thankfully, her chogul test-subjects are disposed of by one of her iron golems. They just get chucked over the side of the castle with other remains. Golems do a good deal of the work around the castle. They are like robots that can be made to do a limited number of tasks. Talestria has some weaker, clay goloms that stay indoors and do just one or two tasks. She became used to giving orders with just a gesture. Due to this habit she also gestures to me sometimes, and then gets a brain fart because I don’t understand what she wants. She’s absent-minded sometimes, and has a cute giggle. I enjoy her giggle when she’s back on her train of thought.

  “Blake! Do you know where the… oh never mind!” yelled Talestria. I looked over to see her climbing over a pile of stuff to dig out a pair of fancy shoes. Running in heavy armor is tiring, but I seem to be getting stronger since I faced Xum’gol and freed the dragon spirit. I wasn’t weak when I came to this world, but I have noticed a big improvement. I think I gained power when I defeated Xum’gol. I also heal a little faster. I haven’t been injured for a while to gauge it, and I’m not planning on being injured just to find out.

  “Do these shoes go with this dress?” Talestria asked while modeling a purple dress with a high collar. She is wearing a lavish hairpin with rings on it that appears to be made of gold. I sort of gawked at her, which made her grin. It’s better to act impressed than say something stupid that makes her take longer. We are preparing to travel to Silmuth to see a play. She always wanted to see one but never felt like attending alone. Now that’s changed. The people still fear her there, but are more at ease when I am around to tame her.

  After finishing getting ready, we walked outside to a cloudy sky. Clouds are common because we live near a large lake. I had hitched a horse to a small carriage to take us to Silmuth. The carriage barely fit the two of us, but that’s fine. I’ve driven the horse a few times and now have the hang of it. “Do you think it will be a good play? I wonder if there will be singing,” asked Talestria while clinging to me. She’s quite excited. At first I was worried that I had been spoiled by movies and television and that the play might be too bland for me. However, since we have few other means of entertainment, I was looking forward to it.

  The road was mostly dirt with patches of stone and mud. It was hard to tell what time of day it was. I knew it would take about two hours to reach Silmuth. I’d only been there a few times, but thankfully, the dark elves there like me. Perhaps they knew that other elves hate me and which made me an outcast in most cities. Perhaps they act nicely to me for fear of Talestria’s wrath. Strangely, I’ve been able to discern whether people are being fake or not. It happened when I defeated Xum’gol. I can’t read minds, but I sense the emotions of people near me. I can look into their eyes I easily tell if they are lying or being honest. Maybe that’s how I avoid ticking off Talestria. I glanced at my wife, and she seemed to be in a cheerful mood. She looked at the trees as we talked, “We’ll enjoy the play. We’ll find a nice place to have dinner and then have fun when we get home.” I looked ahead of me, because I knew that when she said fun she meant board games. I fight boredom here by making board games that I played on earth. I figure no one can sue me for copyrights, and Talestria loves playing them. I made a chess set. I easily beat her at first; I went easy so she learned to enjoy the game. She figured out the rules and what each piece could do, so now she kicks my butt.

  We reached Silmuth; a city built in large octagon layers. The first layer sat a few feet above the ground. About one block inward started the next octagon layer. That pattern kept going until reaching a large building in the center. The ramps are on a slight grade but offer no trouble. A drainage ditch has been built on each side since it rains a good deal here. We saw guards almost jump to get out of our way. They looked at us as if we were their superiors. I had my helmet on because Talestria told me that my face was too friendly. I don’t think she meant I was ugly or she wouldn’t have married me. It might be a way to maintain an image of strength. I was unsure, so I decided to ask her about it when we got home.

  The lamps along the streets were lit by orbs that were triggered by the night. Several citizens stared, and a few waved at us. Talestria was so excited about the play that she waved and smiled as well. I guess when she smiled and waved, the many years of rumors and legends about her confused the heck out of them. I could see the muddled look on their faces. That’s when I discovered that my chuckling under my helmet sounded a bit evil. Finally, we reached the theater which was a large building with a dome. Around it we saw some fancy statues of elvin girls with wings. I pointed at one and claimed it looked like Talestria. She stuck her tongue out at me. I pulled the horse to the side to tether it. There was a guy there to take the carriage from me. He looked a bit nervous when he figured out who we were. I just nodded my head and thanked him. He smiled nervously and took the reins. I helped Talestria down, and we walked inside together.

  Inside, the lobby area was mostly brick with wood trim and was well carpeted. It was filled with nicely-dressed dark elves. I didn’t see anyone asking for tickets but noticed a nice glass jar with money inside. Talestria reached in her purse and dropped in some coins. I saw a man waiting near the jar, probably to make sure nothing
got stolen or something. When he noticed who we were, I could feel his surprise. He gave us a friendly nod. I sensed he felt honored. It’s weird and I am not sure if I will get used to sensing what others feel.

  We found a nice spot up on a balcony, I’m sure this is where the nobles sit, but I doubted anybody would object to Talestria. The theater slowly filled. It was much larger than I expected. There were fancy carvings on the beams. We could see a small musical group in front of the stage with some interesting instruments. I took my helmet off and sat it down in front of me. Talestria started to lean on my shoulder but remembered that I was wearing armor. She just rubbed my head, giggled and said, “Your hair is a little messed up in the back”. We laughed. The theater darkened and all was quiet. Music started, the curtains opened and everyone clapped. Talestria looked really excited.

  The production seemed to be some type of musical. I was expecting something dark and depressing, but it was actually funny. At the intermission Talestria asked me to go with her to find the restroom. The bathroom has a different name here, and I keep forgetting it. I put my helmet back on and walked with her to a doorway where we parted ways. There were several audience members around the lobby, stretching their legs and discussing the play. I got a few stares and saw a lot of whispered gossiping as I stood by the door. I. would have felt insecure, but no one seemed to be mocking, just curious.

  “Talestria is sure taking a long time,” I thought. “I kind of stick out like a sore thumb among all the dark elves!” The dark elves have a different complexion. Some appear well-tanned, while others look paler and a few have full-on grey skin. I had asked Talestria about it. The answer has to do with bloodline and ties to the old elf war. I heard water running behind the door and moments later Talestria came out with a grin, “All ready now. Thanks, sweetie!” We walked back to our seats and waited to enjoy the second half of the play.