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Memoirs of Dragora

Chapter 6: The Assault of Krjn

The next day, Dragora woke up refreshed and ready for battle along side his dear friends who were already awake, looking over him. He stepped out and looked toward the gloomy building of moss and ivy on onyx-colored stone. The rest of the soldiers had already been up, preparing the siege weapons and themselves adequately. Sparring and the repairing of equipment could be heard throughout the camp as the prepared for the inevitable battle to come.

"This is it, let's move out!" Zerion commanded as Dragora summoned his sword and began to walk toward the caravan while Slypnir jumped onto the driver's seat.

"Alright, it seems the battle will go in our favor." Dragora commented as he watched soldiers climb up into the siege towers.

"I hope so, let's just hope we can end it quickly, I don't want casualties to the soldiers or for one us to lose each other." Slypnir blurted out worriedly.

"There is never a perfect war, but we can hope for few casualties and that the gates open swiftly." Zerion stated, walking up to the caravan and jumping in.

"Then let us be off, the quicker the better." Slypnir replied, nudging the manticores to move toward the looming, ominous spire of malevolent wraiths and specters.

They marched through the broken streets and rotting houses of the dilapidated town without a single apparition impeding their path, which unnerved Dragora, who expected a heavy resistance and traps. They reached the gates and moved the battering rams forward, and moved the siege towers to latch onto the walls. Still, there was no resistance, but then Dragora suspected something grim would happen if earthly feet touched the grounds of the citadel. As soon as the gates were breached Dragora halted everyone from going in and told the soldiers in the towers to hold their ground.

"Why hold our ground, we're through. Maybe they are all pent up in that tower." Zerion said eagerly with the anticipation of battle.

"I think I can see Dragora's point. They could have ambushed us a dozen times and the duke could have summoned his minions even more so. Plus, they let us breach their very gates, there's something going on." Slypnir alleged, noticing the quietness of the tower.

"Look through the gates, theres no one inside. My guess is that they cursed the ground to defend their duke. Some of you go build a path out of wood so we can cross without touching the ground!" Dragora ordered sternly, remembering his fever and what only Slypnir had some indication of how he got it. "No one is going to touch that plagued ground on my watch...."

"How can you tell? Can you sense it or something?" Zerion asked, seeing the concern and worry in Dragora.

"What no one knew is how I came down with the fever. I was young and adventurous, and would often pick the lock on my window and explore around. They were right about the fever being unnatural, but never asked how I got it." Dragora admitted to both of his friends, which shocked Slypnir, who had tried for years to find what caused his partner's illness, but to no avail until now.

"So that's how you got that fever and was afraid of this place... That's why you never let me step foot in this place. You were saving me from what you went through." Slypnir said, looking at the person who had been protecting him all this time.

"I see, and that would be why you get unnerved when the name Krjn is brought up." Zerion notioned, learning something deeper about his companion.

"If you want me to prove it, hand me a branch from that tree." Dragora stated, motioning toward the nearby jungle tree.

One of the soldiers walked toward the tree and broke off a branch, skeptical of what the leader was saying and gave it to Dragora, waiting for evidence of the curse. It didn't take long however, for he threw almost immediately and when it hit the ground, it drastically changed. The branch twisted and warped, turning into what looked like a rubbery grape vine, slowly disintegrating into fine dust that blew away with the dry breeze in the thin mist. Astonished, the soldier immediately went back to his position and complained no more about the halt of the battle and breathed a sigh of relief they were not rushed to their deaths. Slypnir looked up after a few minutes and saw a dark figure looking over the force that had caught wind of it's trap and saw it storm off into the gloomy interior.

"We've got company coming, everyone get ready to be attacked from behind!" Slypnir shouted, his instincts telling him that the figure was the duke and he was summoning his army.

Slypnir's instincts had proven him right, for after a few minutes, a portal opened in the center of town and shadows charged out, only to be greeted by ready weapons and boulders. During the battle, Zerion spotted the other soldiers coming out of the jungle, hauling a large bridge behind them. The trio fought and strived through the enemy crowd to escort the builders. The shadows paid no mind to the bridge coming toward them and continued fighting the army in front in vain, for it was not long before the army completely surrounded the portal and were closing in to isolate it. The bridge-haulers made their way around the mass and were at the entrance of the gate when the adversary portal closed. Now being helped by multiple others and the soldiers along the ghostly walls, they managed to lower the bridge onto the steps of the courtyard, and the soldiers crossed carefully. As soon as what seemed to be half the army on the steps, they began charging the door while the others were crossing.

"Charge! We must not give the enemy a chance to flee!" Dragora shouted as he crossed the bridge himself.

"I'll put up a shield around the fort now that we are in, so no one can leave." Slypnir said, running beside the stalwart sentinel of their friendship.

Zerion was just over the bridge when he caught a glimpse of Dragora, who was encountering heavier resistance than anyone else as he was trying to force his way up the stairs, cleaving through the masses of shadow that blocked his way up. Then he noticed Dragora's eyes, which burned with an anger he had not seen before and fought his way over to Slypnir to ask about it. All the while, the trio's army of mercenaries were ever vigilant in the battle which seemed to last ages, for every foe they struck down was replaced by another off in the distance. After a while of fighting, Zerion and Slypnir heard a ferocious, violent roar from up the stairs. They immediately made their way toward the ascending whirl of stone, hacking and casting their way through, concerned for their companion's safety. They neared the top of the stairs and the masses of shadow have all but vanished as they made the final stretch, relived for the small respite from battle. Again, the same roar, only much louder and ground-shaking came from up further, which started to sincerely worry Slypnir, for there was still no sign of Dragora, or for that matter, even the enemies which were so abundant below. Zerion quickened his pace, his armor bouncing more noisily as it clanked against itself and ground, which as he looked down for a moment, noticed the steps were as charred as the surface of a volcano, and just as rough. The roar was much closer now and as the ascended into the main turret chamber, the saw what was making it. Dragora, or who seemed to be, for they could barely recognize their transformed friend, with fire for eyes, gnarled, flecked, spines, and jet-black, glistening scales, swinging the grand blade wildly as if it were light as a feather, at an agile little goblin, who was just barely avoiding the storm of slashes and having terror in his eyes as if he was laying his gaze on something more terrible than death itself.

"Dragora! Don't give into the rage! Control yourself, please!" Slypnir shouted, seeing the terrible force of nature that had manifested itself in Dragora.

"I don't think he can... I've seen him use that blade enough times to say that it's not him controlling it, he couldn't hide the fact the damn thing was heavy, yet here he is swinging it like it's a little twig!" Zerion said, stunned at the sight of it all. "Either that, or he really, really hates goblins enough to get his adrenaline pumping like a sauna pumps steam, whichever is more likely, we've got to find a way to get him to halt..."

"Well if his blade doesn't get stuck in the ground, you may have to take a cannon test with your armor, and see if you can grab his blade... it seems to be what's emanating the power." Slypnir said looking at the midnight blue gem on the blade, which he would've swore was never there before.

The bystanders, which was growing more and more with the roaring, all saw that the goblin was starting to tire and it would only be a matter of time before he was cut down. The soldiers that came up the stairs were shocked by the sight and ran back down the stairs to wait and see if their leader would regain compsure.