Chapter Sixteen

Dragon hoard

The kobold army stood on the top of the cliffs once more and Ember pushed his mana into the territory formally challenging the dragon to defend its territory. There were only one-hundred kobolds the rest of the soul sparks were in the form of a cross between a rage and guard drake with dark black scales and pieces of mithril. The kobolds all had lances or crossbows in hand with swords strapped to their saddles. There was a distant faint roar, but the dragon did not take to the skies and Wraith felt his mana began to push into the dragon’s territory. Since it did not defend its territory the land became forfeit for the taking.

There was a howl as the kobolds of the dragon charged up the earthworks, but Ember stood up yellow eyes glowing in the black demon bone skull. His was the culmination of Wraith experimentation, resources and knowledge of monsters. Poisonous fangs, the paralyzing fear of the wendigo and paralytic tough of the ghoul. His stomach cavity was a bottle of mithril containing a black acid slime which could be stuck with a hammer causing an inner blade to slice the acid in half and project one of the slimes out at a target. His chest contained an extra dimensional pocket learned from the mimic and his mouth was etched with runes to breath a fire breath like the Soul Forged.

They charged down the slope quarrels struck targets as they fired from drake-back and they collided lances impaling and shattering on the other kobolds. There charge led them to the end of the earthworks and the start of the ruined city. The opposing kobolds retreated into the streets and disappeared into holes and houses. The kobold army grouped up and began to proceed into the ancient city.

They were a block into the city when cobbled pavement gave way beneath them. Three dozen kobolds tumbled into a gigantic spiked pit. Wooden supports lay on the ground, signs that this trap had lay in place for a long time and had only recently been activated. Only five kobolds suffered bodily harm the others were protected by their mithril armor and got up with only a few bruises. A dozen kobolds stood up on the nearby rooftops short bows in hand and fired down on the kobolds sprawled in the pit.

Six more were struck down before some of Wraith’s minions with crossbows took them out.

They pressed on faster than before rolling through ambushes as reinforcements arrived as

Wraith outfitted new minions once the soul sparks returned to his core. The kobolds traps and ambushes were varied. They popped out of ruined barrels, sewer entrances, blankets made to look like stone hanging over holes in buildings. There traps ranged from pits, tripwires that launched spears, pressure plates that ignited barrels of explosive materials, rain of alchemist fire or even falling stalactites from the caverns roof. Each trap taxed a few more members of their army but they made slow but inevitable progress to the tower.

Ember led the charge as they marched at a brisk jog down the streets. He swung two hand-and-a-half swords as he cyclone through ambush squads acting a point for the army in his much larger superior form. Wraith’s reach expanded with each minute barely ten yards behind them and with every kill he captured another soul spark and brought it to his core to wait for Ember to imprint it with knowledge and memories.

Time dragged for the army, they felt as if they had been battling for days but only an hour had passed by the time they got to the base of the steps of the tower. The tower was carved from a massive stalagmite two-hundred yards across that stretched all the way to the top of the cavern and was carved with thousands of alcoves, balconies, windows, statues and gargoyles. The remainder of the kobolds stood on the steps a line of shields blocking Wraith’s minion’s progress. Archers leaned out of windows and at the steps summit stood five wyrm priests in black robes holding staves made of bone.

The archers loosed their arrows and Ember led the charge. They slammed together and began pushing stabbing between the gaps in their shields. Screams filled the air kobolds slipped on the blood coating the stairs and tumbled down before being stabbed and crushed underfoot as Wraith’s kobolds pushed their way up. Ember pierced through the shield wall cutting a line up the steps. The wyrm priests chanted and kobolds began to glow. Ember slammed his sword down and a kobold blocked the attack sparks arching through the air as the two matched blades with supernatural strength. Wraith kicked the kobold in the chest crushing its ribs. He spat forward into the midst of the wyrm priests and they retreated from the small black acid as it struck the ground and began to chase them.

As Ember moved up the stairs kobolds fled or froze in terror and Wraith’s minions surged up in Ember’s wake. They swarmed through the tower’s doors and split up into two groups going up the stairs on either side of the hall and killing every kobold they found. Traps went off, but the battle had already been lost for the kobolds. They moved down the massive hallway. They entered a massive throne room and gazed in awe at the mountains of gold around them. On the throne sat a battered warrior in steel plate armor. He wore a helm, but his visor was up showing a beard of steel hair and hard metallic eyes.

“So, you have come at last interlopers. Send forth your champion who dares challenge me for control of territory and dares bring demons against me,” the armored figure said.

Ember stepped forward and the man nodded and got to his feet he limped forward as Wraith’s remaining kobolds stepped back into the hall. The dragon stood up and rushed Ember his limp fading as he gained steed and grew he closed his visor and his armor merged with his body and melted forming scales. He roared as the transformation ended and his maw snapped forward and snapped an inch from Ember’s head. Only the supernatural speed of Ember’s body allowed him to avoid being decapitated He swung his sword at the dragon’s neck, but the dragon jerked its head back with equal supernatural speed it bit down on the blade twisting its head yanking it out Ember’s hand. It buffeted the air with its wings sending a hailstorm of gold coins at Ember.

Ember shielded his eyes with his free arm and spat forward the black acid absorbing and dissolving the coins as it flew forward. He lunged forward with his sword and it scrapped against the joint of the dragon’s already crippled wing. The dragon roared and then swiped at Ember with its claws pinning him to the ground its jaws descended, and Ember grabbed both halves with his arms and strained to keep them from crushing his skull. He spat again, and the dragon roared and coughed out a torrent of stone projectiles shredding the black acid Ember had launched into his throat. Ember leapt onto pf the dragon’s back and began ripping of scales. He had lost his sword when he grabbed the dragon’s jaw, but his claws were just as sharp and deadly.

He stabbed his poisoned claws into the gap in the dragon’s back and there was an ear-piercing shriek, several glass vials of alchemist fire the kobolds carried shattered and they rolled about on the ground putting the fire out. The dragon bucked used its right wing to sweep Ember off its back and to the ground. It rolled over and started crushing Ember beneath its wait Ember’s mithril coated bones began grinding together Ember pushed up with his arms and grabbed and onto a stone pillar and pulled himself out from under the dragon’s bulk. He grabbed a sword lying in a pile of coins and whirled about and jumped straight up over the dragon’s mouth. He grabbed onto the dragon’s horn and used his legs to clamp onto the dragon’s neck; the dragon began to whip its head back and forth up and down its jerky movements prevented Ember from doing anything as he clung to it in desperation.

Ember whispered a spell and fire shot from his hand burning into the dragon’s scales. The steel dragon roared and slammed its head forward Pitching Ember over its head. Ember hit the ground and rolled and then spun about lunging with his sword. The blade stabbed into the back of the dragon’s throat and its jaws snapped shut taking Ember’s arm off. It shrank back its neck shuddering as blood leaked heavily from the back of its throat. Ember staggered forward grabbing one of his fallen swords with his left hand. The dragon swiped a claw at him and be blocked it sliding back as the blow slowly pushed him back. He ducked under the dragon’s arm disengaged his sword and stabbed through the dragon’s armpit into its heart. The dragon collapsed on top of him snapping the mithril plated bones. Ember’s soul spark floated out of his body and back to Ember’s core. A brilliant silver white soul rose out of the dragon’s corpse and Ember cap

“It’s done boss. The new acquisition of territory and resources is complete. I recommend that we move your core room down below the tower of the ruined city. You’re too accessible to adventurers right now and a powerful blast of high magic could easily expose your core room,” Ember suggested.

Agreed, also we should prepare for adventurers. That gunslinger mentioned that if he went missing friends of his might come looking for him. Also go catch him I wish to see what the effects of this polymorph spell are like. Prepare for our next theme I think we’ll go cult this time. We captured the gunslinger and sacrificed him to the dark spirits or something like that and we live in the under city. We’ll plant rumors in the nearby towns and say we’re creating a magical plague or some bullshit like that, Wraith commanded listing off his orders.

“Very good sir, we should finish with the next group of adventurers just in time for Autumn Conclave,” Ember said.

Excellent, we need to do something spectacular so that no one can usurp my place in the Inner Circle. I will not be cast down. Start moving my things down into the ruined city in preparation for my new core room, Wraith ordered already at work on the new underground chamber hollowing it out of the granite.