Feathered Dragon mt-3

by Douglas Niles

  “You’re right,” he said, turning back to Chical. “We’ve got*° get those ships sailing. How can we free Cordell, though? It wouldn’t make sense to attack Don Vaez’s force. They’re not the real enemy.”

  “Still, your presence here can only be described as fortuitous,” replied Chical. “And it has given me an idea…”

  As the warrior explained his plan, they saw it for the desperate scheme that it was. Still, none of them could think of any alternative. They asked questions and finalized details

  of timing. Finally, when Chical again took to The air, they knew what they had to do.

  They rested only briefly through the darkest pan of the night, and by moonrise, which occurred several hours be-fore dawn, the entire force had resumed the march toward Ulatos. They pressed forward through a long, hot day. Halloran again bore the burden of his wife’s unconscious form

  At sunset, none of them showed any inclination to rest Spurred on by the knowledge that the city was nearby, Halloran desperately wanted to get Erixitl to the sanctuary of the temple. In addition, their plan with Chical required them to reach the open fields around Ulatos during the dark of the night.

  It was nearly midnight when Halloran and Gultec, in the lead, broke from the fringe of the jungle and saw the torches of the Payit city glowing across the fields.

  Accompanied by the Jaguar Knight and the priest of Qotal, Halloran left the bowmen of Tulom-Itzi, the dwarves, and the Little Men in the savannah beyond Ulatos. They knew their part in the plan and immediately.started gathering dry wood, collecting it in hundreds of different locations.

  Meanwhile, the trio took Erixitl into the city to seek the temple of Qotal. As the marching column made camp under a moonless night sky, the three companions hurried through the city streets toward the pyramid. Though the torches they had seen earlier flickered around them, they saw no one awake or active at this hour.

  Finally Coton led them to a whitewashed adobe building beside the dark, vine-covered pyramid.

  “Wake up! Wake up in there!” Halloran cried, pounding on the temple door.

  After several moments, they heard footsteps shuffling inside. “What is it? What in the name of the brings you here at this hour?”

  The door flew open, revealing a plump, clean-faced priest in a white gown. “Yes? What do you want?”

  “My wife needs care, and she needs a comfortable place “ rest. We’ve traveled far, and our mission is extremely

  important-important to the himself!” Halloran pushed through the door, Erixitl in his arms, as the priest stammered his objections. “Why do you bother me?” he asked indignantly. “Who just then the priest caught sight of Coton lingering behind the others. “F-Forgive me. Patriarch! I did not know- By all means, bring the lady in! Follow me!”

  Halloran dogged the footsteps of the suddenly obsequious priest, with a grateful look back at the enigmatically smiling Coton. The young cleric led him to a warm chamber, small but with a thick mattress of straw,

  “Here-she can rest here,” he explained. Halloran pushed past him and laid his wife on the mattress. Her chest rose and fell slowly from the movement of her breathing, but this was the only way he knew that she lived.

  Her face had a dreadful pallor, and her eyes-those impossibly beautiful eyes, so deep and rich and dark-remained closed.

  He wondered if he would ever see those eyes again.

  The door to the shed opened, and a wash of yellow lamplight illuminated the dreary cell. Cordell blinked, waking quickly, and saw Rodolfo enter, followed by several brawny swordsmen. The time was some numberless hour past midnight

  “Hey! No one’s allowed in here after dark!” objected one of the guards, climbing sleepily to his feet and standing in the navigator’s path.

  The guard said nothing further as the metal gauntlet of one of Rodolfo’s companions crunched firmly into his jaw. The man collapsed while his two companions stumbled backward, stammering in surprise. The other intruders pressed the tips of their swords to the throats of the remaining two guards, effectively convincing them of the merits of silence.

  “Don Vaez is sending most of the fleet back to Amn with

  the gold,” the navigator hissed. “We’ve got to an now. He’s given orders to sail with this evenings tide.”

  “The repulsive dog!” Cordell hissed quietly. “I made an agreement with him. I told him where the gold was buried, in exchange for his promise to send the cleric to lend my man.”

  Rodolfo looked at the pallid, groaning warrior and knew immediately that Don Vaez hadn’t kept his side of the bargain.

  “Quick-the keys!” Cordell said, pointing to one of the guards. Rodolfo’s brawny companion pressed his sword slightly, and the guard gulped, quickly withdrawing a clinking ring of keys.

  “It’s th-this one,” he stammered, identifying the proper key.

  In the next instant, Rodolfo threw open the door, and Cordell and his men stumbled from the cell. They stood together in the barn, blinking in the bright lamplight.

  “Tie them up. Gag them, too,” ordered Cordell.

  “Beg the gen’ral’s pardon,” said one of the guards, slowly backing away from the sword at his throat. Cordell saw that the man looked vaguely familiar.

  “Name’s Millston, sir. I served with you against Akbet Khrul and his pirates. I’d like to come with.. that is… I’m on your side, sir. I’ve heard about the giant and the trolls and them others. Sir, the only way we have a chance is if you’re in charge. That prissy courtier’ll get us all killed.”

  Cordell studied the man and then made his decision. If he was to be successful, he needed a lot of Don Vaez’s men to come to the same conclusion as Millston.

  “Glad to have you,” he said, nodding to Rodolfo’s accomplice. “Give him back his sword.”

  The conspirators extinguished the lamp. They brought the feverish Katl from the cell and made him as comfortable as possible on a bed of straw. The other two guards, bound and gagged, were locked in the cell for good measure.

  Cautiously they opened the door to the barn. The headquarters house stood across the compound, and men were moving about everywhere. A series of bright lanterns illuminated the top of the rampart to the south, on the side facing the grassy savannah.

  Cordell realized that Don Vaez had organized a work crew that now labored to excavate the gold hidden in the rampart wall. The fort was being destroyed, just when its greatest threat marched toward them in the shape of Zaltec and his monstrous army!

  “What’s that?” Urgency hissed through Grimes’s voice as the officer whirled, raising his sword. “Chical!” he added with relief.

  Cordell saw the Eagle Knight advance from the shadows beside the shed. He clapped his friend on the arm, his throat tightening with emotion.

  “I came to set you free, but 1 see others have done the task before me.”

  “I’m glad you came,” replied Cordell quietly.

  “I bring news,” whispered the Maztican, quickly explaining about his meeting with Halloran and the plan they had formed. At the same time, they heard a commotion arise among the men on the work crew. From their vantage point, they looked over the field toward Ulatos and clamored in excitement and alarm.

  “That must be them!” said the knight.

  “Let’s go!” cried Cordell, leading his small party at a trot toward the high walls of the fortress. “Follow me!” he shouted to the rows of tents sheltering Don Vaez’s men. The workers and guards turned in surprise to see Cordell climb the sloping earthen surface of the wall, turning to face the courtyard.

  “Listen to me, men of the Sword Coast’ 1 warn you of a great danger. A monstrous force approaches, one that will require all your valor to face.” The captain-general’s voice rang throughout the fortress. The men of Don Vaez gathered below, listening carefully.

  “We can face it, but we need allies. I ask you now-look into the field before you.”

  The men on the wall top, working to excavate the gold, had alrea
dy seen the savannah. Now they shared their knowledge with their companions in the fort below.

  “An army camped on the field!”

  “I see a thousand campfires, all come to life at once!”

  “There are twenty thousand men there!”

  What they actually saw were the campfires, some six hundred in number, made by the desert dwarves, the Little People, and the Itza warriors out on the savannah. But the dark night made exaggeration easy. In a few moments, the overly observant lookouts had spotted a hundred thousand men, with elephants and chariots and huge catapults, all gathered before the fortress of Helmsport.

  “Seize him! Stop him!” Don Vaez’s command urged his men toward the charismatic captain-general. Panic made the man’s voice shrill.

  Beside the silver-haired adventurer, Cordell saw the cringing figure of Kardann in the lamplight. It figured, he thought, that the assessor would be on hand when the effort to dig up the gold was made. Now, in the midst of the confusion, Kardann groaned in fear. He took a long look at Cordell and then spun wildly, racing down the outer slope of the rampart to disappear into the darkness of the savannah.

  Good riddance thought Cordell with dark satisfaction. It would suit him if he never saw the little maggot again

  One man decided to take action in the face of chaos. Pryat Devane leaped onto his flying carpet, darting into the air. He began to mouth the words to a potent clerical spell, a casting that could have masked Cordell from all who tried to see and hear him.

  But another form lurked in the sky. As the cleric raised his hand, his carpet soaring toward the captain-general, a great eagle swooped toward him from above. The priest screamed as talons ripped across his face, and his carpet twisted beneath him.

  The eagle dove away but the cleric had already lost control. As his carpet careened toward the rampart where Cordell stood, the pryat desperately struggled to maintain his balance. He could not.

  With a terrified cry, the priest slipped from his carpet and fell heavily to the ground, perhaps twenty feet below He

  groaned and thrashed his arms, one of his legs twisted unnaturally beneath him.

  “Men of the Sword Coast, hear me! These are my allies camped on the field beyond the fort!” cried Cordell, his voice pounding through the vast courtyard. “Join with me, with us, and we will stand against the foe and claim the victory and the treasure that we all deserve!”

  The men working at the excavation scowled at Don Vaez, then looked again at the many fires twinkling across the field. They looked, to the imaginative watchers, like a sky full of stars,

  Immediately several of the workers grabbed their erstwhile captain and dragged him forward. Don Vaez protested loudly, until one of the men cuffed him soundly.

  “Cordell!” A shout rose from the men among the tents.

  ”Hail, Cordell!” It was echoed by the workers on the rampart above.

  In the meantime, the captain-general descended from the rampart and crossed to the injured cleric. The groaning Pryat Devane struggled to straighten his leg out so that he could cast a spell of healing upon it.

  “Wait,” ordered Cordell, standing above the terrified priest. “There’s somebody else I want you to heal first. Pick him up,” he ordered several of his loyal legionnaires.

  With the sputtering Don Vaez in tow, they started toward the cell where the injured Eagle Knight, Katl, still lay.

  From the chronicles of Coton

  In thankfulness to the god who has seen so much of our journey completed.

  We arrive in the plain before Ulatos late at night, exhausted from the last stage of our march. We make camp on me savannah, building our cookfires, though the hour is Past midnight.

  Later we learn that these fires, seen by the men in Helmsport, gave them fear of Cordell’s army. The joke is a good

  one, on all save the hapless Don Vaez. Cordell is indeed a charmed soldier, it would seem, for now he takes a fort of fifteen hundred men with the help of twelve legionnaires and two dozen Eagle Knights.

  Already, at first light, the twenty-five ships of the new. comers are sent to the south under the command of a veteran navigator. They intend to sail around the jungles of Payit to the Sea of Azul. There they will gather the remainder of Cordell’s men and the warriors of Kultaka as well.. And as to us, we shall rest here in Ulatos. Erixitl still slumbers, and not until we can restore her awareness will we make the final leg of our journey. But ultimately, I am confident, we will trek to Twin Visages, and there we will seek the coming of the Plumed God.

  19

  A GATHERING OF POWERS

  Halloran approached the brown bulk of Helmsport, Storm cantering easily across the fields. Concern for his wife formed a cold knot in his chest, but that didn’t completely vanquish his alertness and caution.

  Word had spread through Ulatos with the coming of dawn: The conqueror, Captain-General Cordell himself, once again commanded the great fortress! By now the streets were filled with the news, mostly spoken by Mazticans with a mixture of trepidation and awe.

  lb Hal, however, the news had carried the prospect of hope, which now led him to seek out Cordell. Erixitl remained unconscious, guarded by Gultec and Jhatli, while Daggrande had started over to the fortress on foot. Halloran had not wanted to wait.

  Still, how would Cordell receive him? Now that the captain-general had regained an army and once again held a position of command, would he cooperate with the request of a former fugitive?

  Pulling in the reins as he neared the entrance to the fortress, he nodded to the two halberdiers flanking the wide notch in the earthwork. Their polished breastplates and clean, unpatched leggings looked odd to Halloran, whose own equipment and clothes wore the marks of more than a year’s campaign.

  They regarded him with suspicious frowns until he spoke.

  “I’m here to see the captain-general” he barked. “Where will 1 find him?”

  Blinking in surprise, the guard quickly pointed to the large headquarters building. “He’s in there now.”

  Halloran wasted no time, spurring Storm into a speedy trot across the huge courtyard of the fortress. Around hint he saw companies of horsemen drilling, while other troop) did laundry or polished armor. The harquebuses worked at cleaning their cumbersome muskets.

  Before the headquarters building, he reined in and dismounted quickly. Two guards barred the door, but the portal suddenly opened to reveal the captain-general himself. Cordell wore a shining breastplate. His black hair and beard were neatly trimmed, and a long green plume danced from his gleaming helmet.

  “Halloran! Good work, man. What a surprise to see you here!”

  “And a surprise for me as well,” Hal replied, taking the hand that his old commander offered. “How fared the Nexalans at Tukan?”

  Briefly Cordell recounted the tale of the horde’s withdrawal, coupled with the discovery of Don Vaez’s arrival. “And this is where the eagle brings you now?” Cordell finished with an inquiry.

  “I haven’t time to explain. I come for a different purpose.” Quickly Halloran described their experience at the City of the Gods and the mission that now sent them to Twin Visages. He told of the mysterious affliction that struck Erixitl. “I need a cleric, the best one you have, to see if he can bring her out of it! As long as she remains unconscious, we don’t have a chance!”

  “This might explain the giant the eagles observed with the Beasts of the Viperhand,” said Cordell, describing the image of the looming stone monolith as told to him by Chical

  “Yes-that’s Zaltec himself. We must get to Twin Visages before him to allow Qotal to return to Maztica. He’s the only one who can battle his brother! And only Erixitl can open the path for him!”

  Cordell looked thoughtful, a hand stroking his beard. “It’s true that there are several clerics among these men. They could offer some aid, I’m certain. One of them, in fact, just healed himself after an unfortunate… accident. He is a pryat in the service of Helm.”

  “Please-sen
d him to the temple!” Hal blurted.

  But Cordell’s eyes narrowed. “But tell me now, why should I? After all, you have renounced service in my legion. You made that very clear”

  Halloran’s face flushed. His anger nearly compelled his fingers toward Cordell’s throat, but he forced himself to hold still- “It’s important that she recover-not just for me, but for all of us!”

  Cordell acted as though he hadn’t heard. “Of course, I’m sure we could work something out.” He smiled, as if a pleasant idea slowly took shape in his mind.

  “You know, I’m short of good horse captains! It’s no secret that you were one of the best, Captain Halloran. Now, if you were to join with me quickly-now-I would have no cause for denying you the services of these faithful men of god.”

  Halloran looked at Cordell in disbelief. Unconsciously his hands clenched into fists, yet he forced his voice to remain calm as he replied.

  “You know that I can’t do that. I am a man of Maztica now, Whatever the purpose of this new army of yours, I can make no pledge to support it-or even to stand aside when you march.”

  Cordell sighed. Halloran waited, wondering what the captain-general would do next. The door to the building opened again, and Hal looked up to see a fully-cloaked Eagle Warrior emerge.

  “Chical,” Halloran said, with a bow.

  “It is good to see you, my friend,” replied the knight. Then Chical turned to Cordell. “You must give him the help he seeks. He is right when he says that his wife’s task is important to all of us.”

  Cordell looked at the Eagle Knight sharply, annoyance creasing his brow. Clearly he didn’t like the interference of another in what he considered to be his own prerogatives of command. Then he looked back at Halloran.

  “I shall send them immediately-as I was about to do. My ploy was just that, an attempt to get you back. I meant what I said, Hal-you were the best.”

  Halloran studied Cordell, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or merely attempting to save face. Finally Hal held his hands up. “I’ll take the help you send, and gratefully.”