The metal beast paused momentarily in its stride, briefly lacking the full attention of the will that animated it while the Masters withdrew. But after a few moments, it began to move forward again, more slowly than before but with purposeful resolve. Thelvyn glanced up. The Masters were doing everything they could to evade the packs of dragons who harassed them and still stay within sight of their metal servant. Watching them, Thelvyn knew that their control of the fighting machine would now be at its weakest.
He hadn't seriously considered trying to fight the Masters for control of their warrior, but there was nothing he could do to slow down the armored monster otherwise. Once again he sat back on his haunches and opened himself to his deepest powers, and then he reached out with his will to seize control of the metallic warrior. In almost the same moment, his will was forcibly rejected, as if his mind had hit against an unseen wall. In that brief instant, he had witnessed the intricate network of spells that gave the massive device both the strength and direction that set it into motion. It was far more complex than he had anticipated, but it was also strongly warded against the intrusion of any will except that of the Masters, fiercely protecting itself from any hostile influence.
But it was also dependent upon the eyes and minds of the gemstone dragons for guidance, and the nearest of the alien dragons was now almost five miles away. Thelvyn was now fairly certain that the Masters could see through the metal warrior's jewel-like eyes, but from this distance, they could not see the land about it well enough to guide the creature accurately. While dragons had the sharpest vision in the world, five miles was a long way to try to guide the steps of a machine with eight legs. The warrior had already begun to wander somewhat north of the road, although that might have been to avoid getting itself entangled with the bridge.
Thelvyn watched with interest as the warrior's jeweled eyes began to glow bright red within the deep shadows of their protective brows. His first thought was that the Masters must be enhancing the device's vision, since they were obviously too far away to direct the creature themselves. Then he realized his mistake and leapt aside, running as fast as he could in an erratic, zigzag course. That alone saved his life. Suddenly beams of power shot out from the eyes of the warrior, striking the ground with explosive force where he had stood only a moment before.
Desperate to escape, Thelvyn scrambled over the ground, his dragon's claws digging into the deep sod to give him purchase for tight turns. The beams of ruby light followed him, ripping through the ground like some immense plow, then suddenly jumping ahead or sharply to one side to cut off the young dragon's escape. There was nowhere for Thelvyn to run, caught as he was in the open fields north of the city without protection from the searing beams. In growing fear, he turned back toward the river, seeking the uncertain safety of the water.
The attack was so swift and relentless that Thelvyn could not even begin to plan ahead, running blindly a short distance and then leaping aside to elude certain death. Suddenly one of the beams flashed across his lower back, not quite touching it but so close that it felt like raw fire. The pain caused him to stumble and crash heavily to the ground. The armor on his haunches and the base of his tail was still smoking as he struggled to rise, aware that he would be dead if he did not resume running. For the moment, the burning pain was so intense that he could hardly even walk, let alone run. But the Masters had been so intent upon their attack on Thelvyn that they had not been watching the steps of their animated servant. It continued to march toward the bank and out into the river without slowing its stride.
It was already too late for the gemstone dragons guiding the warrior to correct the problem. The front legs of the device slipped in the soft mud, and it fell down the surprisingly steep bank of the river channel, hurtled forward by its own tremendous weight. Carried by the momentum of its fall, the warrior was thrown completely over on its back and fell heavily, upside down, in the middle of the channel, creating a tremendous splash. Several hundred yards away, Thelvyn had to close his eyes and duck his head as he was caught in the sudden deluge. At least the cool water eased the burning pain of his scorched back.
He blinked and shook himself dry, glancing over his shoulder to see Kharendaen approaching. There was no sign of the metal warrior, which was probably lying on its back at the bottom of the river. It seemed to be making no effort to free itself. The Masters were apparently resigned to leave it where it was for now, perhaps finding it impossible to direct their warrior precisely from such a distance. Kharendaen landed in the field a moment later and hurried over to inspect his singed armor.
"I would not have missed that for anything," she remarked as she folded away her wings, then moved closer to his side. "Are you well?"
"I seem to be," he assured her. "It doesn't hurt anymore."
"I will tend to your damage when I can," she said. "Marthaen reports that he will be ready to command the full
power of the Radiance any minute now."
"Not a moment too soon," Thelvyn commented. "Tell him, if possible, to close all the worldgates in the Highlands that he can locate."
Kharendaen nodded. "I will tell him at once."
She turned and spread her wings, lunging twice across the field before leaping into flight to return quickly to the city. Thelvyn turned back to the east, watching the dragons as they continued to chase the Masters back toward the northeast. Many of them were now many miles away, darting back and forth after the persistent gemstone dragons each time they tried to turn back. But Jherdar had wisely kept a large part of his forces near the city, at least a hundred, where they were available to help the Dragonking if he was forced to fight the metal warrior. Thelvyn stepped out to the bank of the river, lifted his long neck, and took a deep breath, as if he were about to release a tremendous blast of flame.
"Jherdar!" he called as loudly as he could, which turned out to be a great deal louder than he had expected. He had never had cause to use his full voice as a dragon.
The nearest dragons turned sharply at the sound of his voice and stared. Thelvyn suspected that he had been heard halfway to Braastar. Then one of the large red dragons turned and began to fly swiftly toward him, crossing the distance quickly. Jherdar circled tightly over the river and landed in the field, folding away his wings before he bowed to the Dragonking.
"Marthaen will engage the full power of the Radiance any moment now," Thelvyn explained quickly. "Things are going to turn bad for the Masters very soon now, and they are going to have to flee. We're going to try to close their gates here in the Highlands. I need you to have a force of dragons ready to follow them when they retreat. Hunt down as many of them as you can, but don't kill all of them."
"Why not?" Jherdar asked. "If we allow some of them to escape, why bother to close the gates?"
"I'm very interested in discovering where they go," Thelvyn said. "I suspect they have a large base somewhere in the western wilderness where no one dwells, and the Masters might flee in that direction. Find it for me if you can, but try not to let them know you're following them. With any luck, the next move will be to our advantage."
"It will be done," Jherdar promised. He was agreeable now that he understood the reason for such plans. "Am I to follow the Masters myself when they flee?"