by Unknown
"I saved a young sailor from going overboard. A steel bar sheared off the main ballast during a storm and was tangled in his ropes. While under water, the edge sliced through my chest."
"Oh my, how terrible, did the boy live?" she asked.
"Yes, but barely."
"That was very brave of you." she said.
She rested her hand on his arm.
"I guess. My best mate told me I was stupid, so I'll take brave over stupid." he said with a small grin.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Classified
Azrak made his way through the haggard ground occupied with hundreds of tents. Several soldiers jumped to attention.
"At ease," Azrak said, his tone official but relaxed. He stopped in front of one of the soldiers and took off his helmet tucking it under his arm. "We have been assigned a secret mission to the land of Baymoor. I will give more details later, but we are to leave tonight," Azrak said.
"Tonight? But we-" Ralti started.
"I know, the King has a special task that we must perform and has entrusted it to us and only us. I know we are worn but we must do this," Azrak said.
"What do we need and how many soldiers?" Ralti asked.
"We will need mostly traveling supplies. Baymoor is a long distance to the west, and two hundred soldiers."
Ralti's eyes raised, a sense of dread hit the bottom of his stomach. "Why such a big number? Are we going to battle again?" he asked.
Ralti was young at only eighty five years old. His turquoise blue and green feathers were stained with sweat and covered with dirt. He stood as tall as Azrak but had slightly less shoulder width. He was an attractive creature, always gaining favor from the females they encountered through their travels. However, this last battle was fierce and long. It took many lives on both sides. Ralti had lost several close friends and soldiers and was tired.
"Let's just get it done and get back home. Have the soldiers leave in small groups and meet at the falls by morning, staggering their departure so they are less conspicuous," Azrak commanded.
"Yes Sir," Ralti said and slapped his fist over his heart.
Azrak returned the salute. Ralti spun on his paw, turned to the men and gave orders quietly. They had been gone for two years battling the Ebonhoards and Kronos Hoards.
The heart wound he felt for being gone so long seemed to tear even more as the darkness of night began to lift ever so slightly. He dreaded the life he once desired. The night would soon turn to dawn as he made his way through the sleeping soldiers. Many of them slept off their drunkenness of that night’s celebrations.
Azrak sank slightly as he walked back to his tent, his heart heavy and his body sore from battle. He would leave in an hour or so, giving himself enough time to gather his things and write letter to his wife. With his helmet in the crook of his arm he lifted the flap of his tent and squeezed through the small opening. At the foot of his bed he pulled a small box he kept parchment and ink in. He pushed some dirty leather bracers off the small table and took in a deep breath then scripted:
Dear Telete,
I find myself feeling the pains of a broken heart as I have to inform you that I am assigned yet another secret mission. To a land far away, it will take some time before I am able to return. I have been dreaming of the day I can return to you and see and touch you once more.
I feel as though your face is beginning to fade from my memory and all I have left is the love in my heart I have for you. Be strong and think of me often as I never stop thinking of you!
Your forever love,
Azrak
Azrak rolled the small script up and slipped in into his satchel. He gathered his things and left his tent. Azrak skirted toward the kings tent where he hoped to find Lahonti. The dry grass under his paws made more noise than he wished so he half-walked-half-flew. He stuck his head in.
"Lahonti," Azrak whispered. Lahonti stirred but didn't wake. "Lahonti, wake up."
Groggily, Lahonti sat up. He jumped awake when he realized it was Azrak.
"Yes sir. I’m sorry sir, did I over sleep? I'm so sorry sir." He blushed.
"No, no, relax, I have a message I need you to send to my wife."
"Oh yes sir, certainly sir." Azrak hesitated then gave it to Lahonti. "Sir, is everything ok? You seem troubled."
"Yes, thank you, Lahonti. You have been a good servant. I’m honored to have known you."
Azrak couldn't quite kick the feeling that this would be the last time he would see him. All night long the uneasiness kept creeping into his thoughts, making him at times feel sick and at times anxious. Azrak left quickly. He had spent too much time on this matter and put his feelings aside as best he could.
Besides, he was a soldier, born and bred. He had no choice. He was lucky to have been chosen by the royal guard early in his carrier and rose in the ranks well. His fellow soldiers not only fought for him well but loved him. A luxury most leaders never get. He neared the plateau before the falls and fell into ranks with the selected soldiers. Most of them hadn't had much sleep and it showed. Azrak made his way through the gathered soldiers until he met Ralti.
"Do we have everyone?" Azrak asked.
"Over half," Ralti said.
"Good. We leave in twenty," Azrak said.
Ralti had risen through the ranks quickly. He caught Arak’s attention by exhibiting leadership qualities. Azrak took him in as his personal protégé. Within the year made him his first in command.
"Move out," Azrak said.
"Yes, sir."
The soft light of dawn crept across the sky, allowing small hints of light reflect the many colored feathers of the soldiers. Bright blues, greens, reds, oranges and purples flecked the sky. Azrak leapt into the sky, as the last of the soldiers slipped into the sky.
His large flaming red and orange feathers rustled as the wind caught hold and lifted him into the air.
*************************
Groargoth and his small hoard moved quickly through the forest floor. The pelting rain kept them from flying. They ran through the muddy landscape. His anger propelled him faster than usual. His soldiers had a hard time keeping up. The muddy surface soon covered their bright feathers as they raced southward. It would take more than a day to reach on paw and Groargoth was determined to return before Azrak started his new assignment.
The sun never broke through the clouds as night fell. Groargoth agreed to make camp for the night. He found a large pine tree with the branches hanging to the ground. He climbed in under and pawed at the years of fallen needles. The clouds broke sometime over the night, letting in meek efforts of daylight. They again raced through the countryside, this time flying through the trees to stay hidden, before the sun rose completely over the tree tops.
Groargoth slowed his pace and flicked his ears back and forth. The soldiers mimicked him and moved carefully from tree to tree. They came upon five Kronos soldiers taking down their camp. The messenger wore a short red cape and a large satchel at his waist. The warriors lashed their swords on over their dark steel plate armor.
Groargoth pointed a toe toward a ditch, signaled for a few of his warriors to take the left side, and a few to take the right. He crept slowly hugging the ground. He leapt into the air and landed on the unsuspecting messenger. He flung out his talons and gripped the gryphton’s neck as one of each of his soldiers apprehended the others.
“I have a message for you,” Groargoth said.
The messenger shook his head vigorously and wriggled under Groargoth’s grip. One Kronos warrior attempted to roll out from under the soldiers grip, but he was too slow. The soldier stuck his sword into his side. The gryphton slouched to the side and whined.
“Tell Kronos, I wish to speak to him, face to face. He can bring as many soldiers as he pleases. I offer a deal he doesn’t want to miss out on,” Groargoth said.
The messenger scrunched his brows over his eyes with confusion but shook his head.
“I will wait here. He has two days.”
> Groargoth stepped off the gryphton and watched him scramble to his feet. Kronos’ soldiers quickly grabbed their things and darted into the woods. The mist of evening settled over the forest floor on the second day.
“Sir, Kronos is approaching,” a soldier said.
Groargoth rose to his hind paws and stood tall. Kronos and several armed warriors slipped around trees and stopped several feet from Groargoth. He rose to his hind legs, the scar over his left eye gave him and eerie stare.
“So, I hear you have something to offer me,” Kronos said.
“It would seem that my father intends on making you extinct. However, I have other plans for this nation.”
“Oh you do? But you’re not the king.”
“I will be, my father is old and sick and won’t last long, then I will take over his kingdom.”
“So how does that benefit me?”
“You now possess a land that I want. I’m sure there is something you want from me.”
Groargoth had heard the stories as a child of magic so powerful it could destroy the earth. It is said the artifact that evokes this magic was brought by secret travelers and hidden. He had to find it if he was going to show that he could indeed lead his people with greatness.
Kronos rubbed a shiny metal medallion that hung at his neck.
“I want to be General.”
Groargoth hesitated but nodded.
“Fine.”
“What land are you talking about?”
“The land east of the peaks.”
“I will move my forces out of the land and will make my way up through the pass. What about Azrak?”
“I will take care of that,” Groargoth said with a growl in his throat.
“Deal?” Groargoth asked.
Kronos hesitated then said, “Deal.”
They pounded their chests and Groargoth lowered onto all fours and returned to his land. The party slipped behind the mist and wondered if he had made the right decision.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Ruins of Basete
The sun's early morning rays trickled over the mountains and casted dancing shadows. Azrak lay with his head tucked under his front arm, his tail wrapped around him while his wings covered his body shielding him from the night's frost. Azrak's ear twitched, listening to his surroundings while he slept. At first he didn't want to admit that he had heard anything, but the nagging in his ears wouldn't leave.
The sound came again and this time he came to an abrupt alertness. His eyes opened and he scoured the horizon. Ralti too woke and scanned around along with a few of the others. It was a dull humming sound mixed with a chomping or chewing sound.
Azrak stood silently next to Ralti and Brigdon. Brigdon was quite muscular for a gryphton. His head was a bit larger than average and he usually didn't say much. What he didn't say in words he said on the battle field.
"Ralti send out a scouting party. We need to figure out what is making this noise," Azrak said.
"Yes, sir," Ralti said, "Brigdon, take your soldiers and make a sweep of the area."
"Sir," Brigdon growled.
Brigdon’s copper feathers ruffled slightly, rippling down his neck and shoulders. He turned sharply, his long tan tail swished back and forth as he crept away quietly. Brigdon nudged three of his comrades awake. The four worked their way through the rest of the army quietly.
Jaxton had a way of understanding him when others had no clue. The night's frost softened and turn into dew as the sun slipped higher over the mountains casting more rays over the trees. They carefully stepped over fallen and broken branches. Sometimes having to duck under moss covered logs and climb over large boulders.
"Shhhh, do you hear that?" Jaxton asked.
Brigdon nodded, his ears twitching. He crouched onto his hind legs and lowered his center of gravity. Jaxton followed. Brigdon's deep blue eyes scanned around the trees looking both up and down for several moments. He silently crept a few more feet forward toward the edge of the trees.
"What do you suppose it is?" Helios asked.
"Dunno," Brigdon replied.
Brigdon moved sideways, stepping one paw over the other, until he was shaded under the last tree in a line over a mile long.
"What are those structures?" Jaxton asked.
"Dunno," Brigdon said again.
"They're ancient ruins," Helios said, crouching next to a boulder near them.
"How do you know?" asked Jaxton.
He didn't particularly care for Helios. He was always rambling on about this or that. It made his head hurt.
"I studied them at the academy before becoming a warrior," Helios said.
"I thought those were only stories for children," Jaxton said flicking his ears. They heard another crack and then more of the chomping sound.
"It is most certainly real, and it's a shame that warriors are not taught in the art of the ancient lore. Not understanding what is in the past keeps us blind to the future. For example the human mages that are now on the Ebonhoards side." Helios said.
He was indeed intelligent for his kind. Many soldiers wondered why he was even accepted into the armada instead of spending his time in the academy for scholars.
"Ok, so what does it say about them then?" Brigdon asked.
"These are the Ruins of Basete, a once large and powerful city of the Bairr Tiornect. A civilization deep in the earth that used its minerals to forge weapons."
"What happened to them?" Jaxton asked.
"They were destroyed by a Necromancer and shadow magic. He left their ruins to be inhabited by the Selket."
"The what?" Pontos asked, sidling up next to Helios.
"An ancient race placed on this earth by the God of Glory as a way to punish his children for fighting each other," Helios said
"Puhhssh," Jaxton and Pontos scoffed.
"Come on let's keep going," Jaxton said pushing past Helios.
He crouched onto all fours and left the protection of the trees. The others followed, except Helios, who stood seething with anger. He hated that no one listened to what he had to say. Brigdon turned back and growled under his breath. Helios rolled his eyes and fell in behind them. They moved quickly and quietly. At times the chomping sounds grew louder and then softer.
Each time they heard it they felt a rumbling under their paws. As the early morning slipped into bright sun, they crossed the open valley of green grass. Small bushes were dying from the shortness of water. How can that be, the grass is still soft but these bushes are dying? Helios thought.
Loud clacking noises echoed from around a hill covered in trees and shrubs. Brigdon and Jaxton crept around the west side, while Helios and Pontos went around on the east.
"What in the-" Jaxton started.
On the other side of the hill was a creature half the size of the gryphton's. It crawled on eight legs. Its body long and narrow, with a long segmented tail that had a forward curve over its back. The chomping sound came from the arthropod sucking the moisture from the roots of the vegetation. It clinched with its pincer's and sunk its fangs into the soft roots. Brigdon surveyed the area, peering out from around the small dirt mounds they were crouched behind and found several more. Some scurried in and out of tunnels that they had burrowed under the remains of the ancient civilization.
Brigdon lifted his arm and, with one toe raised, swirled it in the air telling the others to wrap it up and head back. As quietly as they came, they slipped back toward the trees. Once there Brigdon halted the team and directed them, mostly with grunts and gestures, to take another sweep, around the far edges of the ruins and make a complete circle.
"I wish we could stay and study these creatures," Helios said, stroking his jade green feathers under his beak.
Jaxton rolled his eyes and followed Brigdon, first swinging wide following the last of the tree line and crouched tightly to the ground when there was no cover. Pontos chuckled at Jaxton's annoyance and went in the opposite direction. He followed the tree line until it ended with Helios in t
he rear. They came to a cliff that had a rushing river about a hundred feet below. They flew over the crevasse, peering down searching the bottom as they crossed.
They landed on the other side and continued working their way behind the dilapidated and fallen stones. On their first time around, Helios noted a peculiar mushroom. He wanted to pick one and take it back to study it, but he knew that Brigdon would not allow it. Now, however, Brigdon was not there. He spotted another one and with Pontos up a head, took his chances and picked it. He carefully slipped the rubbery fungus into his pack.
*************************
"General Sir, the scouting party has returned," said a solider standing at attention.
"Thank you. Where are they?" Azrak asked.
"They were spotted north of the tree line and will be here momentarily, sir," the young soldier reported.
"Thank you, dismissed," Azrak said.
The soldier spun on his heels and returned to his post. After several minutes Brigdon, Jaxton and the others walked toward Azrak and Ralti. Brigdon lead the group with more than his usual scowl. Azrak felt his stomach plummet to the bottom of his belly. Helios's shoulders were pushed back showing his furless chest. Rippling muscles heaved with anticipation. Brigdon stopped in front of Azrak and turned to Helios. He took a small side step, allowing him the honor of giving their report.
"General sir, we've scouted the area and found a nest of Selket. There are hundreds, could even be thousands living under ground in tunnels," he said.
Azrak asked, "Thousands?"
"I thought they were only stories?" Ralti asked.
"I assure you they are not. It would do this army good to know a little bit about history," Helios said.
Everyone rolled their eyes at him, yet on more than one occasion it was his knowledge of the past that kept them from harm.
"You're correct, Helios. It would do some good. That is precisely why I asked for you personally to be on this detail. Your understanding of such matters is crucial," Azrak said.
Helios relaxed slightly and glared at Jaxton who seemed to be less concerned with the whole thing.
