The Order of Dragonfire

Chapter 26

"The Ruby Soul is doing all this? Burning the valley?" Alex gestured at the burned landscape around them.

"It would seem so. Whoever used it apparently had the Soul protect itself until it was discovered. A wise precaution, considering they were likely fighting dragons at the time." Booker said.

He looked far in each direction, a slight frown to his face as his eyes darted around.

"I would prefer to take this back to Serpensbane before we proceed, but if we move it we will likely move its area of effect as well. Naturally, taking it to the city is unthinkable. We must release them here."

He held the stone in his hands and clenched his eyes closed tightly. His brow furrowed into a grimace as he struggled with the power that lay inside. The dragonstone chain encircling his neck pulsed and faded as the fight continued, in time with the Ruby Soul's own emissions.

Alex took a cautious step back. She wasn't sure what to expect and didn't know if Booker had a much better idea either. From her perspective it was entirely possible that it would explode into a million pieces or incinerate them all. There was no telling what had happened to the old relic over the years.

"Just a little more... ah, there!" He said triumphantly. The group gasped and covered their eyes as a blinding light burst from it, followed by a palpable pulse of energy sending them staggering backwards.

Alex squinted and blinked as she tried to regain her eyesight. After a few seconds the haze started to slowly disperse and she could see that a vague figure had appeared before them. It looked like they were wearing robes; yes, red ones, similar to the High Council's. After a few seconds the group could see clearly again and suspiciously surveyed the new arrival.

"Greetings, friend." Booker spoke tentatively, raising his hands to the man who had just appeared before them. "We are here as representatives of The Order of Dragonfire, of which I believe you are also a member. What is your name?"

Alex looked the young man up and down. Was this the Anselm of legend? Certainly not; he was much too young, and whilst legends could certainly be wrong she highly doubted this figure was experienced to hold such a prestigious position. He looked around himself frowning, eyes darting from person to person.

"Yes, I am... My name is Lucian, but what of the others? The rest of my party should have been saved with me."

Booker gave the stone a quizzical expression before closing his eyes again and turning it over in his hands.

"Yes, there are others in here... most of the power stored still remains." He murmured. "Who are they?"

"Anselm and Estrild, who I assume you know, and a few others. As many as six plus myself."

Booker smiled at the comment as the group exchanged meaningful glances. So he was right to hope after all. It seemed that Anselm himself had escaped the fight after all, along with the several more of the Order's mages. That would rewrite history as they knew it and greatly bolster Serpensbane's position. Not to mention how exciting it would be in its own right, of course.

"And what about yourselves. I am afraid I do not recognise any of you or your uniforms. Are you reinforcements from the distant kingdoms?" Lucian's eyes suddenly widened as he frantically searched the skies. "Dragons were attacking us, did you escape them? It looks as though they were here recently, we must be aware at all times."

"Ah." Booker said as everyone shuffled awkwardly. They had known that Lucian wouldn't know how long he had been gone for, but Alex had hoped he would realise that he had been gone for quite some time. Apparently he thought the battle was ongoing, rather than emerging centuries later to find the collapse of the empire he was trying to defend.