Rolling Thunder

by A. R. LEOPARD

  Kasteyn was indeed but a very young man, but he knew much about war. His father had been a warring man, and his grandfather before him, always with Thaxa, for the past four generations. Kasteyn’s father had recognized that the bickering between the countries was getting more wrathful with every year and so had raised his son in such a way as to prepare him for a real war with Thaxa, and to win it.

  Up to this point, little blood had been shed. It was mostly about captures and prisoners, but now that war had been declared, things would be different, It was no simple feud now. Battles would be won and lost, lands and towns would be ransacked and burned, people would die. Destruction was inevitable, but the people of the nations had been awaiting it for so long, it would hardly come as a surprise. Many villages had already evacuated, moving to northern regions where they would be safe, far from the war front.

  But the people fully supported their king in this next important step. It was a matter of great pride to them that they hold the high ground and Zanther’s most recent move had been foul play considering war had not yet been declared at the time. They all recognized that war was the only way to put their reckless enemy back in his place.

  Those who left, left to keep safe and clear the area so that the king should not have to worry about them. Those who stayed, stayed to train for battle or to lend their services to the forging of weaponry and fortifying of their fortress.

  And prince Terragone was coming! This gave them an added thrill, for Gailli was renown and powerful and it was of the highest honors to be visited by one of its nobles, much less the prince himself! True, it was still many weeks off, but they still had much to prepare and plan and accomplish, especially now that war had been declared.

  The rumor regarding the lesser Tanlyiere had reached Kasteyn as well, but he couldn’t waste time mulling over whether it was true or false. Instead, he spared what he could and commissioned several new watchtowers to be built along its edge. Until the rumors were proven or made void, he would not dismiss the potential threat of the Tanlyiere.

  As to his personal life, his family life, Kasteyn had married the love of his life and now they had a sturdy healthy boy who looked up to his father as a king among kings. Kasteyn took up Eynware’s education with the same fervor his father had taken upon his own, and though the lad was still just a child, Kasteyn wasted no time in beginning to prepare his only son. The lad had but recently seen his fourth year and already knew his letters and numbers. He could speak quite fluently, with a vocabulary that was quite large for a four-year-old. Kasteyn had everything planned out for his son. When Eynware turned five, he would take up simple war arts, in addition to running and swimming. At seven, he would have his first lesson in politics and economy, in addition to further bodily training. At twelve, he would give him a small division to rule, to give him a safe domain in which to learn and practice leadership and critical decision-making. At sixteen, he would be fully prepared to undertake full leadership and kingship, whenever Kasteyn should pass on. Yes, parenting was quite high on Kasteyn's list of priorities. And now, warfare was pretty high on that list too, and there was still much to be done.

  —————

  Down the elegant halls of Hermin Druer walked the man who had requested an audience with his highness. His footsteps echoed loudly as he was led to the throne room, with a message that had the potential to echo just as loudly throughout future history.

  Harvest rapped his bejeweled fingers on the elaborate arm of his royal throne, his eyes following the reflection of the sun off the gems on his hand as they danced on the high ceiling. His long silver hair was tied half back, his crown of thinly wrought gold sitting in a dignified manner encircling his head. His beard had been trimmed so that it barely brushed his collarbone. Wrapped around his wide shoulders was a cloak of the deepest blue, with a train so long, it reminded one of a bridal veil. The cloak fastened at the throat with a clasp in the shape of a seagull in flight, made of the same fine gold. Laurelina would normally be at his side, in matching splendor and grace, but she had been out on mercy missions all day and had requested absence from court. Harvest had agreed readily. He didn’t think she needed to be out doing as much as she did, but she loved it and took her position seriously. She always had. She was the perfect queen and he loved her for it.

  There was a sound from behind the large doors at the end of the hall and the occupants of the room, lords and ladies and members of the high court, came to full attention. The double doors swung slowly back and two men approached. They stopped a few steps in and the one in front bowed low and announced:

  “A representative from western Gailli pleading an audience with his majesty on behalf of the western districts.”

  The courier bowed again and turned and left the hall, huge double doors closing slowly behind him.

  The second man moved forward confidently and didn’t stop until he was close enough to see the king's face. He bowed low.

  “May your glorious highness be ever blessed for such befitting hospitality. My lord.” and he slowly rose. He was nothing remarkable to look at, I must be blunt. Nothing about him stood out from the common, except maybe his alert, all-encompassing gaze.

  The king smiled graciously and motioned for the man to come closer, “I admit I have been intrigued ever since I first received your request. I do hope all goes well in the western regions. I have heard tell of some trouble or other, but I do hope it is nothing serious.”

  The man bent his head in reverent acknowledgement of his king's condescending attention. “As you know, my lord, I come representing the western districts. I was sent by the captain of the Western Guard, the renowned Red Reaper, to inform your majesty of some very serious rumors indeed, if rumors they are.”

  Harvest raised his silver eyebrows and let his slate grey eyes rest with more intention on the stranger before him.

  “Oh?” he said and he shifted forward in his seat, “What are these rumors?”

  “If I may, let me first assure you of my own integrity and probity. I am myself in league with the Western Guard. My name is Endarc and I have brought with me proof of my service to you for the past twelve years, guarding and defending the wild plains west of the river Ruid.”

  Here Endarc pulled several sheaves from a travel bag he had slung over his shoulder and handed them to the man who waited on the king.

  “Are they all in proper order and form?” Harvest asked as his right hand man shuffled through the credentials and other such documents.

  “Yes, your excellency, all right and proper.”

  Harvest relaxed some and shifted back on his throne, “Good. Now, continue with your tale.”

  “Tis no tale, your kingship. It is why I brought the credentials. I don’t want you to fear that this is mere hearsay. But let me continue. There are indeed, rumors and tales spreading around Gailli about the strange happenings on the western front. But I come with the facts of the matter. Fairies are being kidnapped. The first case was several weeks ago now, and since then at least several more have been taken.”

  And so Endarc went on to describe the events of the past days and weeks. The Reaper had sent a messenger after him the day of the third incident, so he was able to share with the king what they knew about the kidnapper and how they were even now tracking him.

  Harvest listened without interruption until Endarc was finished. He found it interesting and exciting to some degree, but overall he was rather underwhelmed.

  “That is troubling news indeed, but why exactly have you brought this to me? Is there something you wish me to do?”

  “The Red Reaper thought it wise for a representative to come and inform you of the situation out there. He wished you to know the reality from the rumor, and to warn you of this unknown danger lurking on your borders. He assures you that he is pursuing justice, but feels that something larger is at play. He wanted to know if you had any ideas as to what that might be, or if you have any specific instructions about how to handle the situatio
n.”

  Harvest straightened in a manor that indicated Endarc’s time was about up, “I have every confidence in your captain. Let him act as he sees fit. I'm sure it will all turn out in the end.” and he smiled cheerfully at Endarc and stood up himself.

  Endarc bowed low, his face a mask, gave a quick word of thanks, and walked away.

  Harvest sighed and turned towards his assistant, “What a long way for nothing. If the Reaper has this under control, why come bother me about it?”

  They both shrugged their shoulders and Harvest dismissed the other courtiers and lords and ladies in the room, as the strides of a spurned man rang down the castle halls.

  Once Endarc reached his room, he calmly closed his door, and began packing his things. To say he was disappointed would be falling a bit short of the emotion he felt currently. He had no desire or need to stay here any longer and the longer he was here, the more his feelings festered and grew into something borderline of irreverent.

  Within the hour, he was once again on the road and heading back west. He supposed his captain would be quite disappointed with the news he brought back. And what of the rest of Gailli? If the news continued to spread, and incidents kept on happening, how could they feel safe? Surely a king ought to care enough to at least reassure the people when something like this was afoot. Were those they had lost just an expendable few?

  It made Endarc angry to think that a man with so much power and influence at his command would allow his people to be preyed upon, all the while using his resources for superfluous extravagance. Yes, Endarc had heard about Rella Height, a symbol of Gailli's prosperity, stability and safety.

  But Gailli wasn’t stable or safe.

  Endarc shook his head and cleared out the rage gathering there. Maybe the king knew exactly what he was doing. The Red Reaper truly was incredibly resourceful and capable. Perhaps Endarc was being unjust in judging the king so. But even if he was right in his frustration, what more could he do than he was already doing?

  14

  The Gorge and What They Found There

  The sky, which had shown signs of perhaps clearing up, had changed its mind and was clouding over again. But of course it would! Blacky had said it would and was Blacky ever wrong? And though Crispin could not see the sun presently, he knew it was setting, making the mission they’d been called out to do that much more interesting. He was already quite sore from trying to keep a hold of Iron Wing as she soared with the wind as it picked up behind them. But he was excited. He glanced over at Bovess flying Seeker a few hundred feet to his right. Seeker was a smaller dragon and not as graceful or majestic as Iron Wing. But his yellow-gold scales blended perfectly with the waving grasses, making him more practical than most dragons for undercover missions.

  Down below them, two riders somehow managed to keep up with the speed of the dragons. Shifty and Hollo plastered themselves to their wind-lashed horses as the incredible beasts pulled for all they were worth, which, as a side note, was quite a lot.

  Before long the gorge was finally on their horizons, barely perceivable as a dark slit from the ground, but a looming crack to those in the sky. Crispin was leading them towards the end of the gorge, those last few miles that he and Blacky had not been able to cover on the day all this trouble had begun. They had seen no sign of Blacky yet and Crispin dearly hoped this meant his cousin was somewhere by the gorge itself, waiting for them like he'd said he’d be. If the culprit had not been heading towards the gorge, instead passing it or changing directions entirely, finding Blacky would be a whole lot harder.

  A few minutes later they were all standing over the gorge, nearly at the narrowest point, looking down into the impenetrable blackness. It was too tapered here for anyone to be able to walk along the bottom of the gorge, much less ride a dragon down, but they would have to start here anyway.

  Crispin briefly scrutinized the landscape, rubbing his chilled fingers together, “We’ll have to split up and carefully make our way east along the edge of the gorge. It's fast becoming too dark to see easily, so be especially sharp as you keep a lookout for Blacky. I'll fly along the opposite side once the gorge widens again, in case Blacky somehow got over there. The rest of you need to carefully comb this side of the gorge. Spread out and remember there could just as well be enemies out here as Blacky. Alright. Keep an idea of how far you're going and I'll cross over and meet you again about three miles down. If you’re not there, I’ll assume you’ve found Blacky earlier and trace back to you.”

  Crispin was going to attempt some sort of speech about bravery next, but a roll of thunder drowned out his opening words and his company was already dispersing into the darkness.

  “Never mind.” Crispin said to himself as he gave Iron Wing a nudge. With one powerful sweep of her wings, the great creature rose back into the sky.

  He rode slowly over the ground he had allotted to himself, as he scanned the gorge and the surrounding plains. If only it had been lighter, his progress could've been quicker. As the storm bore down on them, the frequent lightening became his greatest aid. It illuminated the night so well, that at times, he could see Bovess and Seeker on the other side of the gorge. The distance between them was growing however, as the crack quickly widened. Crispin was careful to coast low to the ground. He didn’t want to stand out in the flashes of lightening if any evil watchmen were on the lookout, and he wanted to look for footprints or anything of the like.

  For all his vigilance, he was not rewarded however, and it was not long before it was time for him to cross over and see how the other group had got along. He hadn’t seen Bovess and Seeker in a while and he hoped that meant they had had more luck than he. The sky opened up and great drops of rain began to fall as he flew over the gorge and began to fly back along the opposite side. The pouring rain slowed him down some, since it made it even harder to see, especially since the lightning was less now.

  About a mile later, a brief flash of lightning revealed Seeker perched near the edge of the gorge. Crispin made for the solitary figure and had soon landed near the other dragon and was peering underneath the golden brown wings at the person who lay concealed in the dry darkness beneath.

  “Where'd the others go, Bovess?” he asked over the roaring rain, joining him in the shelter.

  “They went on down awhile ago. We found Blacky and figured you'd still be quite some time. I'm here as guard and watch.”

  Crispin was less than pleased with this news, “Well, I suppose I'll go down then and see if I can find them. Did Blacky have anything interesting to say when you found him?”

  “No, not really. He followed the man here and when the man went down, he waited on the edge until we came to back him up. He hadn’t been here very long either, before we came. The kidnapper is traveling quite slowly, probably because of the maimed cat.”

  Crispin looked out at his dragon, barely visible in the rain and darkness, “Is it wide enough for Iron Wing?”

  “She could walk and depending on how far down the gorge they followed the man, it might get wide enough to fly. Apparently this is one of the easier spots on the gorge to descend safely, but not where the man stopped.”

  Crispin nodded, “And any sign of enemy lookouts?"

  “Yes, but he left his watch when it started to rain. He was down on a ledge in the gorge, watching this spot. Blacky had been keeping an eye on him and so he never saw us. Blacky and the others went down as soon as he left.”

  “Alright then. Keep an eye out for any more.”

  Bovess nodded, “And you all be careful. Use the signal if you need help. I’ll be listening.”

  With that Crispin dashed out in to the rain and remounted Iron Wing. They walked over to the edge of the gorge, and in a flash of lightning, the two had dropped out of sight into the dark canyon.

  —————

  Crispin had to hold tightly to Iron Wing as she clamored down the side of the narrow pass. The darkness was tangible as it rose up to meet them, making Crispin grateful that Ir
on Wing’s night vision was better than his. When they reached the gully floor, he had to jump off Iron Wing to get down to look for hoof prints. But the rain had washed everything out. His only option was to walk until he found them, or until the space was wide enough for his dragon to fly. He remounted Iron Wing and together they began down the winding pass.

  The rain had lightened to a steady drizzle, the roar of wind and thunder was muted, either because they were farther removed from it or because the fierce storm was moving on. But it was still too dark to see anything. Crispin depended on his dragon to be able to sense danger, because there was no way he would be able to look for it. He wondered how the others’ had managed it.

  Finally, after coming around another bend in the gorge, right as Crispin felt it might be wide enough to fly, he saw light. It was a warm light, like fire light, but it was very dim as it glowed on the rock wall ahead. He carefully continued forward, Iron Wing still walking, since, though he could see that the pass was definitely wide enough now, he didn’t want to make any sudden sounds.

  He passed around the next bend and the light was brighter. Around the next, and he could see that it was coming from a cave. A quick survey of the area revealed his three friends gathered in deep shadow in a particularly dark hollow. He glanced around, looking for any more watchmen, and seeing none, dismounted Iron Wing so as to keep her hidden behind the bend, and slowly approached them.

  “Hey, it's Crispin.” Hollo rasped out when he saw the jaunty fairy creeping over to the little group.

  All three dismounted as Crispin joined them.

  “Everything still look good out there?” Blacky asked, eyes not leaving the glowing cave entrance.

  “Yup. How long have you been waiting here? And what’s the next move?” Crispin pushed Shifty aside so he could get a better look at the cave himself.

  “Three of us will go in and see what’s going on here, and one will stay out here with the horses and to signal Bovess if something goes wrong.” Blacky turned to face the group.