The Dark Lord's Handbook: Conquest Page 48
Morden was approaching rapidly, growing larger by the second. In size and form, he was like no other dragon that had ever lived. He had been mostly undead and a small part dragon. Now, he was almost all dragon who was dead in part, and the world had never seen his kind before. As a character trait, it worked well for a Dark Lord.
Morden swooped low over his fortress, performed a victory loop-cum-twist, then landed atop one of the intact towers. He hung on with one giant claw, the other maintaining its grip on the metal casket, spread his wings to their impossibly huge extent, and let out a roar of pure triumph. The Dark Lord was home and he brought news of victory.
“Is that it? Can I go now?” asked Good.
“In a minute,” Evil said. “It’s not as though you have anywhere to go.” Good opened his mouth to speak but Evil silenced him with a raised hand. “One more thing.”
Morden leapt from his perch on the tower, scattering black slate from the spire as he did, and headed towards them. With a few beats of his powerful wings, Morden sailed over them and down into the crater, spiralling as he went. He passed low over the bubbling lava and let the casket go. Good and Evil watched as the casket bobbed briefly on the surface, turning from black to bright orange, before it sank into the molten stone.
“And that’s that,” said Evil. “No more hero, and no more hero’s sword. I think that about ties it up, don’t you? I win.”
Good looked at Evil, the hint of a smile on his lips. “Hmm. Not so fast. I really do have somewhere to go. Take a look. Over there. A long way. Let your vision stretch.”
Evil felt his stomach sink. When the sword had sunk into the lava, forever lost, he had expected something to happen. He wasn’t sure what, as he’d never won before, but he’d expected some kind of feeling of ultimate triumph, where he was the one who now held the fate of the world in his hands. But he felt nothing. Something was wrong. This should have been it. He had won. Morden had triumphed.
With something approaching panic, he let his vision go in the direction Good was pointing. Mountains, deserts, forests, swamps and oceans raced beneath his gaze, becoming a blur as he let his senses go to where they were bidden. At last they stopped on a beach. There, he found a woman and an orc. The woman was pregnant. He could sense its spark of life, and it was strong. And it had a familiar feel to it. One he was less than pleased to recognise.
“That doesn’t count,” said Evil, rounding on his adversary. “They’re out of bounds. Morden rules the known world. I win.”
“I think you’ll find the known world just got bigger,” said Good. “Good effort, though. The best so far. But it’s not over quite yet.”
“You cheated.”
“Yes, I did. Get over it. Game on.”
*****
With the sword dispensed with, and reclining as comfortably as a Dark Lord could on a throne, Morden brooded on his victory. He had achieved everything he had set out to do. He had built his fortress, raised his army, marched out and swept all before him. None were left who would, or could, oppose him. Victory was total. And yet something rankled him. Something was not right. People had died. Lots of people. Some he had cared about, but even the loss of Griselda was a wound that was healing fast. With the dragon awake once more, he found himself caring less for the life he had had with her. Part of him hated himself for how pathetic he had become. Moping around like a lovesick teenager, that was no way for a Dark Lord to behave. No, it wasn’t the loss of Griselda, or Lady Deathwing (his only mild concern in that regard was for his father, and he’d been last seen sinking his sorrow in a brothel in Firena).
And it wasn’t Penbury. It turned out he liked the man, and certainly respected much of what he had done. Aside from the minor detail of himself directing affairs, what Penbury did was useful. In the few days he had spent at the chancellor’s estate, he’d had a good time. After years of almost no sensory feeling, he’d enjoyed a wide range of pleasures, from the finest arts to a slightly awkward, but nevertheless enjoyable, night out at the amphitheatre where they had watched a hastily written play celebrating his assumption of power. He had also eaten the most exquisite thing known to man, spriggle. True, it had given him mild indigestion. The chancellor had both been surprised and delighted he had enjoyed it so much, indicating only the most dedicated gastronomes ever ate it.
No, it wasn’t Penbury that bothered him. He thought they would have a good working relationship.
Then it came to him. It wasn’t Penbury, it was what was in Penbury’s study. It was the globe. It was an amazing object and a fantastic piece of work. It had shown him the known world and his place in it. And it had shown him how big the rest of the world was—and it had been blank. No man, or orc, knew what was out there. There could be nothing, or there could be almost anything. There could be kingdoms and empires. He didn’t know. It was true, he was master of all he knew, but it niggled him there was more he did not know. That would have to change. His work was not yet done.
He couldn’t help but sigh. It wasn’t easy being a Dark Lord.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Dragonslayer
Chapter 2 Good and Evil
Chapter 3 Volcano
Chapter 4 Raven
Chapter 5 Black Dragon Flight
Chapter 6 Swamped
Chapter 7 Homebound
Chapter 8 Dark Lord Tribulations
Chapter 9 Handbook: War
Chapter 10 Fortress
Chapter 11 Poetic Suicide
Chapter 12 Fleet
Chapter 13 A Dark Lord Planning
Chapter 14 Hunted
Chapter 15 Handbook: Death Traps
Chapter 16 Death Traps
Chapter 17 Outmanoeuvred
Chapter 18 Handbook: Love
Chapter 19 Book of the Dead
Chapter 20 Separation
Chapter 21 Dark Lord and Dragonslayer
Chapter 22 Making Deals
Chapter 23 Hero Squad
Chapter 24 Hostage
Chapter 25 Rehabilitation
Chapter 26 Teachings
Chapter 27 Birth
Chapter 28 Dragons Revealed
Chapter 29 Secrets
Chapter 30 Handbook: Betrayal and Revenge
Chapter 31 Betrayed
Chapter 32 House Guests
Chapter 33 Torture and Death
Chapter 34 Morden Issues Forth
Chapter 35 Nuriel
Chapter 36 Escape
Chapter 37 Handbook: Making an Entrance
Chapter 38 Book of the Undead
Chapter 39 Training Body and Mind
Chapter 40 Ancient Truths
Chapter 41 Fleets Clash
Chapter 42 Victory at Sea
Chapter 43 Handbook: Battles
Chapter 44 Fae Revealed
Chapter 45 Griselda
Chapter 46 Handbook: Single Combat
Chapter 47 Plan B
Chapter 48 Dark Tidings
Chapter 49 Late Arrival
Chapter 50 Handbook: Jibes, Threats, and Curses
Chapter 51 Divorce
Chapter 52 Dracolich
Chapter 53 New Order
Chapter 54 Love Lost
Chapter 55 Morden's Conquest
Epilogue: A Distant Land
Epilogue: A Dark Lord Risen