by Don Perrin
“The purpose of punishment is to reinforce the lesson,” Kang said, smiling. “I think you’ve learned your lesson, haven’t you?”
“Yes, sir,” said Fonrar, but she sounded subdued and she did not meet his eyes.
“I was very proud of you today, Fonrar,” Kang said. “The way you admitted your wrong to the general. That took real courage.”
“Don’t praise me, sir,” she said, still avoiding looking at him. “I don’t deserve it.”
He was pleased with her modesty and humility. “I hope that the others weren’t too upset about what the general said. Thesik, in particular.”
“What about, sir?” Fonrar looked at him now, warily.
“About …” Kang was uncomfortable. He’d been rehearsing his speech all the way over here, but it sounded much too grandiose for an audience of one. “About coming from … the eggs of dragons.”
“Oh, that, sir.” Fonrar seemed relieved. “No one was upset. Why should we be? We’ve known about that for a long time.”
“You have?” Kang was astonished.
“Yes, sir. Cresel explained it all to us. How we came from the eggs of the metallic dragons, eggs that were magically altered to produce draconians instead of baby dragons.”
“Huh? Cresel explained … But that … that doesn’t bother you?” Kang stammered.
“No, sir,” Fonrar said, blinking. “Should it?”
“No, no,” he said hurriedly. “Of course not. It’s just … Thesik didn’t appear to understand what the general was talking about. I thought—”
“Oh, that’s just Thes.” Fonrar smiled indulgently. “She’s like that, sir. Keeps herself to herself. You never know what she’s thinking unless she wants you to know and then half the time I don’t understand. To tell you the truth, sir, Thesik was mad at the general. She didn’t like the way he singled her out, as if she were different from the rest of us. And so she played dumb, didn’t let on that she understood what he was saying. I think it has to do with wings, sir.”
“Wings?” Kang was mystified.
“Thesik doesn’t have wings, sir. I think that upsets her.”
“I … I see.” Kang didn’t see, not in the slightest.
“Will that be all, sir?” Fonrar asked, stifling a yawn.
“Uh, yes,” said Kang. “Get to bed. That’s an order.”
“Yes, sir.” Fonrar saluted.
Kang watched as the guard slid the bar back in place, then he walked to his quarters, more than ready for his own bed.
“Wings!” he repeated, scratching his head.
A rapping on the tent post, followed by the sound of wings scraping on canvas interrupted Kang’s dream, a pleasant dream this time. He opened his eyes to find a draconian standing over him.
“Hunh?” Kang grunted, the most intelligent sound he could make at this hour, whatever this hour was. What it obviously wasn’t was morning. The tent was pitch dark. The draconian’s body heat provided the only light. Kang recognized Slith.
Thoughts filtered through the remnants of a dream into Kang’s brain. Slith had knocked, but he hadn’t waited for Kang to yell “enter.” Slith had barged into his commander’s tent in the middle of the night. Slith—who should have been asleep as well. Something was wrong.
Kang sighed deeply and swung his clawed feet over the side of the cot. Why didn’t emergencies happen at noon? Why did disaster always wait to strike while a fellow was peacefully sleeping?
“Sorry to wake you, sir.” Slith began.
Kang waved his hand, indicated that Slith was to skip the apology, get on with the bad news. Kang knew it was bad news. No one ever woke him up in the dead of night to give him good news.
“Whas’it? Goblins?” Kang mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
“Two of our troopers are missing, Sir. Urul and Vlemess, both baaz, both from One Squadron.”
“Huh?” Kang stared at his second. “Missing? Two of ours? When? Where? How?”
“The two were among those assigned to stand sentry duty on the wall, sir. When their shift ended, all the sentries who were relieved of duty lined up inside the front gate. All except ours. Our two turned up missing. The fort’s sentry commander put our two on report, but didn’t bother to tell any of us that two of our own were gone, sir. After the rest of our sentries returned to barracks, Celdak did a head count and came up two short. He went to see the fort’s sentry commander, who told him that the guards who were supposed to relieve our two had found them missing at their posts.” Slith paused, then said quietly, “They’re going to be listed as deserters, sir.”
“Deserters! No! That doesn’t make any sense,” Kang protested vehemently. “Damn it, we’ve ventured hundreds of miles together over mountains, across rivers, through blood and fire and not a single draco has deserted. Died in battle, yes. Died of sickness. One killed by wolves and one committed suicide. But not desertion, Slith! Not desertion!”
Kang tried frantically to come up with a plausible explanation. “Did you try the latrine? Maybe they’ve got the trots?”
“Yes, sir. First place we looked. Celdak reported to Gloth, who called out the whole squadron. Gloth thought maybe our two didn’t know they were supposed to report to the fort’s sentry commander and, when their duty ended, they left to find a drinking hole or maybe went to the mess hall. No sign of them. Gloth also ordered that the squadron search the section of the wall the men were patrolling. They found this lying on the ramparts, sir.”
Slith held up a boot knife. “You probably can’t see in the dark, sir, but it’s one of ours. Made by our smith. I recognized it and so did Pol’lard, when Gloth rousted him out of bed. That’s when Gloth woke me up and that’s why I’m here waking you up an hour before sunrise, sir.”
Kang absorbed all this. “Do you think they deserted, Slith?” He shook his head. “Maybe I should have talked to them last night—”
“They didn’t desert, sir.” Slith was emphatic. “Why should they? Where would they go? To join up with the goblins? For gods’ sake, sir, we’re inside the only safe haven that exists around here for miles! Why would they leave?”
Kang had to admit this made sense. “Has anyone checked outside the wall?”
Slith shook his head. “We’ve been told that no one goes outside the fort after dark—General’s orders. He figures the goblins have patrols out to try to pick off any stragglers. We were going to wait until dawn.”
Kang reached for his field harness and equipment and began to strap it on.
“At first light, I want the regiment in fighting order at the front gate. We’ll do a full sweep of the area. Give the orders, start the troops moving, then go and see Prokel. You two seem to have hit it off well. Ask him if he’ll lend us some bodies to help search. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.” Slith started to leave, turned back. “What is it we’re searching for, sir?”
“Blamed if I know!” Kang snapped, concern making him irritable. “Piles of dust, the rest of their equipment, blood, signs of a fight. Maybe some damn goblin archer got them during the night and they tumbled headfirst off the wall. Or maybe they saw something and decided to fly down and go check it out.”
“Not likely, sir,” Slith said. “They would have reported—”
“I’m aware of that, damn it!” Kang shouted. He hadn’t meant to shout and he drew in a deep breath, annoyed with himself. He shouldn’t be seen losing control. “Just go, Slith! There has to be an explanation.”
Slith saluted, and dashed from the commander’s tent. Kang exited the tent to find Granak already up and moving, the company standard in his hand. The bodyguard was already assembled, waiting for him in parade order. Granak had foreseen his commander’s need and prepared for it accordingly. Kang was comforted by the sight of the enormous sivak, solid and steady, undisturbed by the turmoil, ready for whatever might come.
The air was cold. There was no wind. Clouds blotted out the stars. The predawn darkness was thick and oppressive.
Kang’s e
ngineers were forming into troops and squadrons on the parade ground in front of the partially completed barracks. When all was ready, Gloth, Yethik and Fulkth, the two commanders of the line squadrons and the commander of the support squadron, marched up to Kang, saluted, and reported.
“Sir, First Squadron ready to march, sixty officers and other ranks.” Gloth paused a moment, the next words hard for him to say. “Two missing, sir,” he added harshly.
The next officer, Yethik, spoke up. “Second Squadron, ready to march, forty-eight officers and other ranks, two too ill to fight, Sir.”
“Support Squadron, fifty-four officers and other ranks, ready to march,” said Fulkth, “Two cooks and two orderlies staying behind to provide food for when we return, and two asssigned to security for the females, sir. Speaking of the females, what should we tell them, sir? They’re bound to know something’s up if they see us all march out the gate. And you know that they’ll see us, sir.”
Kang nodded gloomily. He’d come to learn that the females were highly observant. He was often amazed and occasionally dismayed at how much they knew about what was going on in the camp.
“Tell them we’re going out on maneuvers,” he said, after a moment’s thought. “Don’t mention anything about the missing men or about the goblin army massing. I don’t want to upset them. And I don’t want them to think that we all might … might … might abandon them.” He couldn’t bring himself to even say the ugly word “desert.”
“Yes, sir.” Fulkth saluted.
Kang turned back to the other officers. “March your squadrons to the front gate and wait for my command to move out.”
The officers saluted again and shouted orders in unison. Although the babble sounded confusing, the soldiers knew which voice to listen for, and responded only to their squadron commanders. They marched in step to the front gate, halted, stood ready to move out the moment the sun had climbed over the mountains. They would not have to wait long. The sun would not make an appearance this morning, due to the clouds, but the black of night was giving way to a sullen gray. With first light, Kang ordered the gates to be opened. The squadrons departed, fanning out to explore the territory surrounding the fortress.
“You’re with me,” Kang said to Slith.
Accompanied by the bodyguard, the two examined the area beneath the wall where the draconians had stood watch. Kang had hoped to find the piles of dust that would mean his draconians had died on duty. Better death than dishonor. But they found nothing. There had been no wind during the night. The dust could not have blown away. Cautioning the bodyguard to keep their distance, Slith investigated every bit of ground minutely, crawling on his hands and knees.
“Nothing, sir,” Slith reported, rising and wiping the dirt from his claws. “No dust, no blood. No broken scales or scraps of torn leather.”
“No sign of footprints?” Kang asked.
“No, sir. But the ground is hard-packed and rocky. Wouldn’t show much. Still, look at this sir.” Slith indicated some scrub bushes growing at the base of the stockade. “See how brittle and dry these are? If the baaz had been shot and fallen from the wall, they would have landed in those bushes. No sign of that, sir.”
The bushes were intact. Their small brown leaves scraped against the wood with an annoying dry rustle.
“So we know that they didn’t jump from the wall. They weren’t killed. They’re not lying dead drunk in the latrine. Where in the Abyss are they?”
Slith gazed out across the barren ground that surrounded the fort. “I suppose they could have made a run for it, sir. Figured they’d head north. There’s talk around camp of a fortress of Dark Knights of Takhisis not too far from here.”
“Is there?” Kang looked up at Slith sharply. He was about to ask where, but they were interrupted. Kang turned to see Commander Prokel.
“Men deserted in the night, eh?” Prokel said, adding, with a shrug. “Well, it happens to us all.”
Not to me, Kang was about to say, but he shut his mouth with a snap.
“Especially,” Prokel continued, “with these reports of the goblin army preparing to attack. I lost two men last night. We’ll lose more, I’m afraid. I’ll recommend that the guard be doubled.”
Kang made no comment. Another regiment of draconians—Prokel’s regiment—marched away.
“I’ve sent out my troops to help capture the deserters. I ordered them to take them alive.” Prokel rubbed his hands. “We’ll make an example of them. Might deter others.” He glanced up at the stockade with interest. “What did they do? Jump off the wall?”
“We can’t find any signs of that,” Kang said morosely. “Excuse us a moment.”
Drawing Slith aside, Kang said in a low voice. “Find out from Prokel who that blasted sentry commander was and why he didn’t report this disappearance to us immediately. And I also want to know more about that fort of Dark Knights. How close is it? How many men does it have? You have to talk to him, Slith. I’m afraid if I do, I’ll lose my temper and say something that will get me into trouble.”
“Whereas if I say something to get me into trouble—” Slith began, grinning.
“—I can always give you hell for it later,” Kang said.
Muttering his thanks to Prokel for his assistance, Kang departed.
“Your commander’s taking it hard, isn’t he?” Kang overheard Prokel say. “You’d think he never dealt with deserters before.”
“He hasn’t,” Slith said, adding companionably, “Say, I was wondering if you could introduce me to that sentry commander? I’d like to ask him a few questions—”
* * * * *
“There they go, off on maneuvers,” said Fonrar, staring gloomily out the window of their new quarters. “And here we sit, doing nothing.”
“Don’t you think it’s sort of odd?” Thesik asked, joining Fonrar.
“What’s odd? That we’re doing nothing? It’s what we always do,” Fonrar said bitterly.
“No, I mean that the commander’s sending the men out on maneuvers. Yesterday they worked like ogres were driving them to finish the barracks and now, with the barracks only half-finished, they’re off with first light to go on maneuvers. Why not go on maneuvers after the barracks are finished? Why waste the time? Doesn’t make sense to me.”
“You’re right,” Fonrar said, considering. “Something’s wrong.”
“I saw you talking to the commander last night. Did he say anything?”
“Just to ask if we were moved in and comfortable and to commend me for the way I stood up to that creepy old general.” Fonrar sighed. “The commander commended me! He didn’t punish me, like I deserve. I wish he would have, Thesik. Then I could be angry and resentful at him. As it is, he was so kind and understanding that it made me feel wretched and guilty. I hate deceiving him.”
“I know.” Thesik was sympathetic. “But remember that we’re keeping this from him so as not to worry him. It’s for his own good. And with the men gone and the barracks only half-built, this is a perfect time to go on some maneuvers of our own. We should take advantage of the situation.”
“You’re right,” said Fonrar. Like any good commander, she put her personal feelings aside. “An opportunity like this might not come again.”
The females’ quarters were much roomier than the shed had been, provided more air and light through the small windows cut into the wall. The main door opened off a corridor leading to the common room that was located between two barracks. When the common room was finished, the females would be protected by male draconians on either side. The only access to their quarters through the common room. As it was, that section was only half-built. A second door led to their own latrine—a slit trench enclosed by a wall of logs.
Fonrar assembled her troops.
“Report.”
Riel, the baaz commander, stepped forward. “The roof of the latrines is not yet completed. The wall can be easily scaled. A pile of wood outside will screen anyone climbing over the wall. After inspectin
g the construction, we have determined that with the proper tools, we could alter some of the logs so that they could be removed and put back into place without anyone noticing. If they didn’t look too hard,” she added.
“Right. And that will provide us with a way to get outside. Will they post guards there, do you think?” Fonrar looked to Thesik.
“I shouldn’t think so,” Thesik said. “They have guards on the main door, of course, but why guard the latrines if there’s a wall around them and a roof over them?”
“Agreed. Sivaks, front and center.”
Shanra and Hanra marched forward.
“The males are gone on maneuvers, or so we’ve been told. Thesik will take care of distracting the guards at the door. You two will exit through the latrines. Buckle on the armor, as usual. We need weapons. Don’t talk to anyone, but keep your ears open. I think something’s up and I’d like to know what’s going on. And I’ll expect you to map the fort on your return, so keep your eyes open, as well. Any questions? Good. Dismissed.”
The sivak sisters departed to put on their armor. Thesik went to the main door, planning to find out what she could from Cresel, as well as keep him from hearing any suspicious sounds that might come from the direction of the latrine.
“I doubt if I can get much out of him,” she confided to Fonrar. “He’s shut up tighter than an oyster since the commander put him on report.”
“Do what you can,” Fonrar said and left to supervise the sivaks’ escape.
Having seen them over the wall and safely away, with no alarms being raised, Fonrar returned to put the rest of her troops through sword drill.
* * * * *
Kang went back to his tent, planning to wait there for the reports to come in. He would have much preferred being out on the hunt or prowling about the fort, searching in sheds and under tables, but he had to restrain himself. To do so would give the appearance that he didn’t trust his own men and officers, when, in fact, he knew that if the two missing dracos could possibly be found, his troops would find them. But the waiting was hard, the hardest task he’d ever set himself. He was hungry and he considered going to the officer’s mess, but the thought of running into Vertax or any of the other officers, of having to listen to them discuss the incident and know that they held him in disdain for his dracos’ desertions effectively ruined Kang’s appetite.
