Free Knights of the Wizard (of Knights and Wizards Book 2) by A. J. Gallant Page B

fell from the sky.

FIFTEEN
    MORE THAN TWO THOUSAND SOLDIERS WERE CAMPED at the base of the Great Taishanda Mountain range, their wizards having broken through the mountain and more soldiers in their red and black motif with the pointy helmets were continuing to pour out of the tunnel. They were a serious looking bunch, the Dwagord were all male, having left their females and children behind in Caoma, they had conquered all the kingdoms of the north, all seventeen of them, and now were looking for new conquests and more spoils of war.
    They had commenced to build a new kingdom at the base of the mountain, changing the lay of the land. Chancailu and Daijulan had already conjured a castle with their magic for King Kai who would come later to see how well they had followed his orders, but they were exhausted from such an enchantment, their powers depleted to dangerously low levels. Refusing the king’s orders had not been an option. The sorcerers were twins, their magic fed off one another and enhanced both of them, and now they had to be carried around on stretchers they were so weak. They were the kind of sorcerers that if they completely exhausted their magical energy it would never return.
    It was strange to see the huge castle in front of the tunnel where only two days ago none had existed, flying its red and black flags. The castle was the color of yellow beach sand and servants and warriors were preparing for the king’s arrival, while the one-eyed general Dochacra was going over plans to defend it. He was a monster of a man with unusually hairy arms, the result of a spell that had closed a serious wound. Soon enough he would take to the air on the back of their only dragon and see what wonders lay before them, the beast’s mind was being controlled by a powerful enchantment.
    “The king has arrived!” a distant voice shouted.
    Everyone made room for King Kai as he was carried in on a large ornately carved oak throne with a red cushion on its seat. He inspected the area and his troops, satisfied with the castle’s exterior as he entered to assess the interior. Inside some of the fireplaces were non-functioning, as if they were painted on the wall but that could be rectified later when the wizard’s recovered. Sometimes with such a large enchantment not all the elements came out properly, there was also a stairwell in one of the chambers that led to nowhere, but the place was sufficient to get settled into this new world, besides he would occupy someone else’s castle soon enough.
    Kai discovered that his black dragon was dead upon arrival, having perished of old age, and so they decided to feast upon him, in the morning he would sent out bands of scouts to explore the area and decide which kingdom they would invade first. Everyone hoped that the death of the dragon wasn’t a bad omen. Kai was happy to finally be on the other side of the mountain range, it had taken his wizards several years to manage the proper spell to tear through such solid rock.

SIXTEEN
    KING DARIUS WAS CONCERNED; Berhtram hadn’t been seen in more than a day and a night, hoping that nothing untoward had befallen him but he was uneasy about it and hadn’t slept well because of it. Had Chromos killed his raven in battle? It was only a bird and yet it depressed him, having had to banish Marcus and now this, one thing after another. It was like adding a little thing on a big scale that tipped it. He considered sending a battalion of knights out to search for the bird but of course the idea was foolish, still he was the king. His chamber was a lonely place without his raven.
    Darius stood in his chamber looking out the window, as still as a scarecrow on a windless morn, scanning the skies for his bird, he observed several red dragons flying over but no sight of Berhtram. If he ever saw that crow again he would do his best to kill it. “Berhtram! Berhtram!”
    Berhtram didn’t usually venture too far from the castle, something was definitely