“No, they’re not that small,” Ramonda agreed. “But they are discreet. Or rather, they can be discreet when they choose to be. A little known fact about our friends is that they’re incredibly skilled hunters and largely because of their stealth.”
“All right,” Baine acquiesced. “However, I think you’d better make sure they understand how important it is that they don’t start chasing each other’s tails and doing aerial loops right outside one of these dragons’ lairs.”
Ramonda laughed. “Don’t worry. I will explain the situation to them.”
Sitting in her prison above the land of Issalia, Haadeiya, the queen of the Ulak on the plains, finished her evening meal. She smiled at her sole companion, a woman called Daphne who was the governor of Carcasia. There were more prisoners close by, Haadeiya knew – the governors of Illisden and Un’vari were in the next room, and Lord Falk was either with them or in the third one down – but Daphne was the only one in the same room as her.
However, Daphne was good company and the meal was good too. Some tender slices of meat and halves of potato roasted with just the right amount of salt. They had had fresh cool water, probably from a nearby mountain stream, and even some red wine. Elenskaer seemed to be very concerned with making sure they were well looked after, even to the point that she would bring them their meals herself.
It was something that Daphne and Haadeiya were both puzzled over. It was as though Elenskaer’s heart really wasn’t in this scheme that Savenya had hatched.
“You know,” Haadeiya said as she finished her meal, “I’m grateful that we’re being taken care of as well as we are but I always feel a little guilty eating this well when the people back home are being deprived.”
“Yes,” Daphne agreed. “I hope they’re holding up well but... Still, it could be worse. Some of the governors who took power in the confusion after Marshal Artaeis died were much worse. But I know what you mean.”
Haadeiya shook her head. “Even if our people are living well, they’re still living in fear of retribution if they do anything that might displease the dragons. And that’s the part that troubles me.”
As they were sitting down for their own evening meals, Karn and Shaala were joined by Baine.
“I understand you two brought down one of these Drach’nsvoiya dragons once,” he told them, placing his plate opposite theirs and fiddling around with the cutlery until he had decided on the most efficient way to use it. “An arrow through the eye, right?”
“Yes,” Karn told him. “Shaala made the arrow, and enhanced it so it could penetrate a dragon’s hide.”
“So why didn’t you do anything when the dragons came to...” He trailed off for a moment, searching for the name. “When they came to Arahir?”
“People could have been hurt,” Karn said. “We had no idea how many dragons there were and if we shot one down, then the others might have retaliated.”
Baine shrugged. “Seems to me though that if you shot down one, you could have shot down all of them.”
“Maybe,” Karn conceded. “But we didn’t have any weapons with us when the dragons showed up. They took us all by surprise.”
“Fair enough,” Baine said, although he didn’t seem convinced. “However, I think if you can strike them quickly enough, then they won’t have time to retaliate, burn villages or whatever it is they’ve threatened to do.”
“Well, that’s what we want to do,” Karn told him, while Shaala nodded her agreement. “However, we’ve got to wait until those dragonets come back first so we know where they all are.”
“Silly things,” Baine said, shaking his head. “I mean, they’re sweet little animals but they can’t be trusted with something of this importance. They’ll be seen for sure.”
“Ramonda seems to think they can do it,” Shaala told him.
“Yes, but Ramonda doesn’t know what we’re up against any more than I do,” Baine said, giving her a smile that Karn didn’t care for.
He wondered whether dragons were ever interested in people in that way. Baine had certainly enjoyed the adulation he’d received from the Khalahi women that morning well enough.
“However, you do,” Baine continued, still addressing Shaala. “So what do you think about it?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Shaala replied, giving Karn’s hand a squeeze to reassure him. “But they seem quite intelligent and I think they can avoid being seen if they want.”
Baine nodded. “Maybe.” He then fiddled around with the cutlery a little more and gave Shaala another smile. “I wonder, my dear, if you might be able to show me how to use these things.”
The following day, Savenya met with Karafae and Elenskaer on the ramparts of her fortress at Wyvern’s Peak.
“Well,” she announced, turning to Karafae, “since we’re all here, why don’t you tell us what was so important that you wanted to have a meeting over it?”
“I think some of the Angdar are deserting,” he said.
Savenya was quiet for a few moments. Then she let out a little laugh of disbelief. “Why would I give a damn about that?”
“Well, I thought keeping the Angdar in line was kind of important,” Karafae said.
“Certainly, but if a few of them go wandering, it’s hardly a big loss now, is it?”
Karafae glowered. “The others are denying that any of them have gone. They’re lying to me.”
Savenya rolled her eyes. “Yes, that must be simply intolerable. What do you expect the things to do? Betray their own to you? Who are you to them?”
“I’m their lord.”
“Their hated and despised lord,” Savenya said.
“I resent that.”
“Resent it all you want, but that’s the truth of the matter,” Savenya said. “The Angdar under my command hate and loathe me but do you think I care? You’ve got to try to understand these pitiful creatures if you want to command them effectively. Just pick a few of the ones who follow orders better and ask them to keep watch over the encampments for you. Then they can bring any traitors or... what shall we call them... mutineers to your attention.”
“It wouldn’t work,” Elenskaer told her. “The other Angdar would turn on them, even if it meant killing them to guarantee their silence.”
“They’d kill their own?”
“Why not?” Elenskaer countered. “We do. And they did it all the time in the past.”
“But,” Savenya said, “that wasn’t how they ensured their survival after Tal killed the last of Strahd’s lieutenants and the things had to fend for themselves. They put those ways behind them in order to keep their race alive.”
“That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t kill a few individuals who tried to sabotage their plans. And I’d imagine that any Angdar who seemed too close to any of us would be watched by the others. I’m sure they already watch their captains.”
Savenya shook her head. “I don’t believe you two.” She looked at Karafae. “You. You come here worrying over a few missing Angdar and you, Elenskaer. You’ve fooled yourself into thinking the things are ten times more clever than they really are. But do whatever you want in your own lands. I don’t give a damn.”
She turned around and left them, heading for the stairs back into the fortress.
XIII. A Chance Encounter
“That’s it, Ishtvan,” Talon said. “Don’t sacrifice your balance to get the blow in. Take your time and make the opportunity.”
“Against you?” Ishtvan asked, shaking his head as he circled his uncle. They went through several more rehearsed moves together – attacks and blocks – and finally Ishtvan got the killing stroke in, thrusting the blunt end of the stick into his uncle’s side.
“Hey, well done,” Talon complimented him. Then he winced. “And ‘Ow!’ You can still hurt me with that thing.”
“Sorry, Uncle Talon,” Ishtvan said.
“That’s all right,” Talon replied, giving him a grin. “Okay, get out of the circle.” He nodded to Kelahil. “You’re up
, Kelahil. Come on. What’s Aunt Natooka been showing you?”
“Mostly footwork,” Natooka told him with a smile of her own. “I’m not the fighter in the family but I know a little bit about keeping out of harm’s way.”
“Well,” Talon said, turning to Kelahil, “let’s see how much Kelahil was paying attention. Are you ready, my young lord?”
“I’m ready,” Kelahil told him, rushing towards him.
“Whoa!” Talon exclaimed, reaching out and pushing him back. “Wait a moment. You’ve got to let Uncle Talon get ready too, right?”
Everyone was either an uncle or aunt to Kelahil now. It kept things simple.
Kelahil grinned. “Sorry, Uncle.”
“That’s all right,” Talon told him. “Now, get your stance right as Aunt Natooka showed you. Come on. Feet like this.” He then shook his head as he saw he had lost his audience. “Hey, stop watching the dragons and look at me.”
Behind him, the dragons were drawing quite a collection of curious onlookers. Also, just as they had been on the previous day, Karn and Shaala were on the ground spotting for them.
“Baine, you’re right on her,” Karn said silently. “Fold your wings and drop.”
“Are you –?”
“Do it!”
Up in the air, the bronze male dropped, the sudden rush of speed bringing him straight down onto Helina’s back, knocking her off balance and dropping her too.
“All right, you got her,” Karn told him. “Let her go.”
Baine pulled away, while Helina regained her balance and climbed back up to a safer distance from the ground.
“You see?” Karn said. “You could have torn her to pieces right then and she wouldn’t have been able to do a thing about it.”
They continued the exercises for another hour and then the dragons came down to land.
Baine gave Karn a funny little smirk as he was handed his trousers but he put them on without argument, shaking his head in amusement as he did.
“You sure you’re not a dragon yourself?” he asked him. “You seem to be a natural at this.”
“I’m just observant,” Karn told him.
Baine nodded. “Yes, I’m beginning to get that. I can see why you were the one who killed Dominicon. You’re dangerous.”
Karn wasn’t sure how to take that. It seemed as though it was meant as a compliment but it wasn’t exactly how he liked to think of himself.
“You’re pretty dangerous yourself,” he replied. “You’ve got good speed and you can build it up pretty quickly. We can use that. Just one thing though. You don’t need to prove yourself out there. We’re all working together.”
Baine frowned. “I’m not trying to prove anything.”
“That’s good,” Karn told him.
That night, while King Nabahar was hosting a small feast for his guests, Kelahil and a group of Khalahi children came bursting through the door.
“The dragonets!” he shouted. “The dragonets are back!” Everyone stopped what they were doing and hurried outside to welcome their not–as–little–as–everyone– thought friends. Baine was among the first to approach them and several of the onlookers were surprised to see that the things practically attacked him, chattering angrily.
Lorial walked over to Karn, who was grinning.
“Any idea what that was all about?” she asked.
“Baine asked the dragonets why they took so long,” Karn explained, “when earlier, he complained that they wouldn’t be stealthy enough for the job. So they’ve basically told him that he can’t have it both ways.”
Lorial laughed. “They’re bright, these things.”
“They sure are,” Karn agreed.
“Well,” Baine announced to the rest of the group after being let off with a warning, “our friends have found where Karafae and Elenskaer are, and also where the civic leaders they’ve imprisoned are as well. Also, I remember some of you telling me about Savenya’s dragons kidnapping Arahir women and the dragonets found them too. At Wyvern’s Peak.”
At that moment, Shaala left Karn’s side and moved through the crowd. “One moment. There’s something I’d like to try.”
“What’s that?” Baine asked.
Shaala knelt down and silently called one of the dragonets towards her. “I want to see what the dragonets saw with my own eyes. Then I can show everyone else so we know exactly what to expect when we go to these places. Someone should fetch Morgiana. She can do this too.”
“You can?” Baine asked. “She can?”
But Shaala didn’t reply. She was already sharing the memories of the dragonet in front of her, seeing what this particular individual had seen. The last time she had done this had been with a sparrow, but the technique she had used worked just as well with the much more extensive memory of the creature in front of her. One difference however was it was a much more mutual effort than it had been with the sparrow. She asked the dragonet to show her various things, and the dragonet then recalled them. He was willingly helping her.
Then Shaala felt saddened. She saw Kaolin and Keld sitting in their prison at Wyvern’s Peak, defeated gazes in their eyes. She saw mournful Arahir women scrubbing the stone floors of the fortress several levels below. She saw Queen Isabelle and Heptapshu in a sparse room with high windows, Queen Haadeiya and another prisoner she didn’t recognize...
Then after she had seen everything she had wanted to see, she thanked the dragonet and stood up, leaving him to join his friends.
After they went back inside and sat down, Shaala began by showing Karn what she had seen. Behind her, Morgiana had come out to help as well and soon she was showing Tal.
Morgiana and Tal were still keeping their pledge to stand back and not involve themselves. However, they still wanted to be kept abreast of what was going on.
Then Shaala and Morgiana showed the dragons the sights and sounds that they had recalled through the dragonets’ memories.
After this was all done, Ramonda suggested that they got some rest so they could resume their training the following day. Then they would make their plans.
When everyone awoke the following morning, Shaala didn’t follow Karn out onto the plains with the others as she had done the day before. Instead, she sought out Gandon. She was certain Ramonda and Helina could manage training now without her spotting for them but, more importantly, she had another matter to attend to.
“Hello, Shaala,” Gandon greeted her with his usual warm smile. “You aren’t watching the training today?”
“No. Today, I have something else that needs doing,” she replied. “And I need your help.”
Gandon nodded. “What do you need?”
“I need metal,” she told him. “And I need your hottest forge.”
“We have good forges,” Gandon assured her. “The sun isn’t the only hot thing is this country. As for the metal, I’ll have to ask the king but I’m assuming you’re not planning to outfit an army here?”
“No, I’m just planning on making a few arrows and possibly a handful of short blades.”
“Well, I think we can spare a little metal for that.”
Shaala was still at the forge Gandon had shown her when Karn and the others finished the morning’s training.
Karn shook his head when he found her. “This sure is a strange way to escape the midday heat.”
Shaala stopped what she was doing for a moment and they kissed, holding each other close.
Karn stroked her hair. “So, what are you making there?”
“What am I making?” Shaala asked. “It’s what I’ve made. One arrow and one short blade. The blade I’m particularly proud of.”
Karn looked at the weapons. They didn’t look all that special. But he knew better.
That night, Ramonda held a council of war in Nabahar’s hall. The king was present as well, as were Tal and Morgiana, but they were only there to listen in on the proceedings. Karn and Shaala were of course there too, and so were Baine, Helina and Haitarus. And als
o, sitting in on the proceedings were Lorial, Talon, Gandon and his sister Natooka... oddly enough at Ramonda’ own invitation.
“Well,” she said. “We now know where all nine of these dragons are. We know where their prisoners are being kept and we know where their new homes lie in relation to the various cities and villages they are subjugating. The only question that remains is how we can remove all nine of them before they have a chance to wreak retribution on the people of the Greater Realms.”
“Now,” she continued, pacing around the room, “the prisoners that they’ve taken are the people who are at most immediate risk, so we should secure their safety quickly. However, once we do, we will need to act swiftly because when these dragons find out that their prisoners are missing, we can expect them to start terrorizing others until the prisoners turn themselves in.”
She pointed to the three strongholds of the Drach’nsvoiya dragons on the map. “There are four of us dragons here and I also believe that the dragonets can help out as well. However, although they’re not as small as everyone keeps saying, they’re not exactly large enough to carry people. And we’ll need to carry people for the plan I’ve devised.”
“So who’s going where?” Karn asked. “Because I think some of us will be better suited for some things than others.”
“I have some ideas of my own,” Ramonda said. “But do you have any suggestions?”
“One comes to mind,” Karn told him. “I’ll go with Baine to the mountains above Issalia and Shaala can go with Helina and Haitarus to Kalishar. I think Karafae’s group will be more formidable than Elenskaer’s so two dragons will stand a better chance.”
Ramonda gazed at him. “You say that Karafae’s group will be more formidable than Elenskaer’s. What makes you so sure of that?”
“Well, every one of those dragons is a green for one thing,” Karn pointed out. “However, it’s mainly because that’s what my instincts tell me.” He glanced at Tal and Morgiana. “And I think my companions here can vouch for my instincts.”
Tal smiled. “They’re frighteningly accurate.”
“Well,” Ramonda said, turning from Tal back to Karn, “it just so happens that your instincts are aligned with my own. It’s my intention to see to Savenya personally. Not because I wish to prove myself.” Here she smiled at a somewhat taken aback Baine, “but because I perceive her group to be a threat on a similar scale to Karafae’s. And since we can’t have two dragons go to both of these places, I have decided that I will go alone because I am the largest dragon here.”
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