The Dragoness Queen

Chapter Eleven: The Domain of Durag

Montazus led the group toward the village. As he did, several people came out to meet them. All of them were pale-skinned, like those who had attacked the Dragon Empire before. However, they dressed much the same and had similar weapons, yet there was a death theme to them. Skulls were carved into the doorframes of their houses.

The houses themselves were stone with thatched roofs. A large palisade wall surrounded them, but there were no guards. The path was dirt and kept clear, but there was a forlorn look to this place. It seemed as though it was all a frame, and at the center was a firepit filled with bones—some of them human.

Relma looked to Montazus, and a question occurred. She thought about how best to ask it. Eventually, she decided to just go ahead and say it right out. "Do the villagers here serve you or Durag?"

"Neither, though they worship the Sun, they do not believe in the faith," said Montazus. "To do so would bring the wrath of Durag, for they must sacrifice their bodies and spirits to him. Now quiet, we are to be met."

Another priest, though very differently dressed, came before them. His headdress was made of black feathers, and he bore skull emblems. It was a sharp contrast to Montazus's own sun regalia, and Relma liked it somewhat better. It also had no gold or silver. She did not like all the scars on his body or the long, jagged knife.

"Welcome, High Priest Montazus. You honor us by your presence. Is this the sacrifice?" asked the priest, bowing as he did so.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," said Montazus. "We will need to rest here tonight. My brethren and I have seen many friends depart to the Sun Spirit."

"Then Durag mourns their absence," said the priest in a mournful tone. Too many have fallen in these wars already."

"Will Bryag come against us, Quxil?" asked Montazus quickly. "Or has he departed? We must know it."

"I do not think he will return today," said Quxil. Durag's gargoyles are now in great force. The Dragon Empire knows to fear them." He motioned skyward to where Relma saw many dozens of the creatures. They were flying like vultures above them. "You are welcome to our hospitality, of course. As cousins."

"Cousins?" asked Relma as she was led into the village. The villages gave way to them or stayed in their houses—more the latter than the former.

"Those who serve the Sun Spirit are all brothers in faith," said Montazus. "Those who dwell here are likewise kin. Yet they are of a more distant form."

Relma nodded and then saw a pillar of fire burning high at the top of a hill in the center of town. Yet there was nothing for it to be fueled on, save for charred bones scattered around it. Looking at it gave her a chill. "What is that?"

"The pyre of the sacrificed. One is set at the center of every one of the Sun's followers," said Montazus.

Quxil led them at last to a huge longhouse. It had what looked to be a stable near it; however, there were no horses within. Relma wondered why they would need such a thing.

At a guess, she speculated that messengers from other lands might need it. Or perhaps the horses were elsewhere right now. Montazus, however, did not give it a second glance.

Instead, he regarded his men, who were tired of running and fighting and pointed to them. "You men, rest. I shall begin the ritual in the isolation room." He looked to Relma. "Do I have your oath not to try and escape?"

"Until you decide to burn me alive, yes," said Relma, not being quite so nice as to go further.

"As good as can be expected," said Montazus. Then he looked to Quxil. "I ask that you ensure this one does not leave the village. Other than that, she may do as she will."