While the two birds were still circling, a dragon appeared in the sky. The birds did not notice the dragon at first, and that cost one of the birds its life. Kinelli grabbed one of the birds in her talons and crushed it as she gave chase to the other bird. The dragon and the bird passed out of Steffen’s view, and the Ranger called out for a count of his men and a count of the birds killed. His men were all alive and ten of the birds had been killed. Kinelli got the eleventh bird and was chasing the twelfth. That still left one black-cloak unaccounted for, and Steffen did not care for loose ends.
High in the sky over the canyon, the thirteenth bird had watched everything. Baku had seen the Rangers destroying his men, and he had seen the dragon giving chase to the lone survivor. Wishing not to be seen by the dragon, Baku moved off in the opposite direction and landed in a wooded valley. There he spent the rest of the day until nightfall arrived. As soon as it was dark, he resumed his bird form and took to the sky. He flew all night and all day until he arrived at General Ross’s camp. Exhausted from the flight, all he really wanted to do was sleep, but he entered the large command tent to make his report. General Ross looked up in surprise.
“You are back sooner than expected,” the general said with a sense of unease. “What is wrong?”
“We have problems,” sighed the black-cloak. “My men stumbled into a trap yesterday. They are all dead.”
“Are you sure?” gasped the general.
“I watched them die,” snapped the battle mage, letting his exhaustion get the better of him. “I am sorry. I am tired, but that is no reason to be rude. I have traveled all night and all day from the Boulder Mountains to get here. Yes, they are all dead. There are humans in this land. I would estimate only about a dozen, but they are highly skilled warriors, and their purpose for being here seems to be to eliminate your battle mages. They have been killing my men by shooting them while they were in bird form. We found the bodies of the last two men who never returned.”
Baku opened his mouth to continue, but the general raised a hand to interrupt him. “I am not being critical as I know nothing about being a mage, but I am curious why you have returned. Couldn’t a man of your power destroy a dozen warriors with ease?”
“Indeed,” Baku nodded, “but it gets worse. There is also a dragon in this world.”
“A dragon?” gasped the general. “Are you serious?”
“Very serious,” frowned the black-cloak. “It is a huge creature and as vicious as any stories I ever heard about dragons. Its talons grabbed the last two of my men. Only I escaped. It is not safe to fly with such a beast around.”
“Could this dragon be working with the warriors?” asked the general.
“I do not know,” admitted the black-cloak. “I have been wondering about that for the entire flight here. It is either working with the warriors, or its timing was incredibly fortuitous for our enemies. The archers were unable to kill the last two men, but the dragon appeared before my mages were able to respond to the attack.” Baku sighed and shook his head. “There is something else about the dragon’s behavior that puzzles me. It did not devour my men. It merely crushed the life out of them with its talons and then discarded the bodies. It was not hunting for food.”
“I do not believe in coincidences,” stated General Ross. “I have to plan as if I have a dragon for an enemy. Get some sleep. We will talk more about this tomorrow.”
Chapter 34
Demands
General Pryblick and Colonel Dukirk rode side-by-side through the swamp, heading back the way they had come the day before. The general was in a foul mood, and the colonel was receiving the brunt of his rage.
“The men are at the point of mutiny,” berated the general, “and I can hardly blame them. They were stung and bitten the entire night, and most of them were afraid to even relieve themselves after the black-cloaks died. The tale of being eaten alive by those giant reptiles ran through the camp faster than the winds from a summer storm. This swamp is worse than the pits of hell, Colonel, and you are responsible for leading us into it. Give me one reason why you should not be stripped of your rank?”
“I was only doing the task assigned to me, General,” replied the colonel. “We could not proceed up the Coastal Highway. Even you agree with that. The bridge was out. How was I to know that the road through the swamp was flooded out?”
“You went on ahead of the column, Colonel,” scowled the general. “Did you not think to look beyond the area of the encampment?”
“I did go beyond it,” sighed the colonel, “but it was too late in the day to turn the column around. Look at the land around us, General. Where could we set up camp here? There is barely enough solid ground here to hold the road. At least back where we camped there was enough dry ground for the soldiers to settle down for the night. We could not do that on this road.”
“That was my decision to make, Colonel, not yours. Now we have lost two days. It will be impossible to reach Tagaret on schedule unless I march these men day and night. How effective do you think these men will be when the battle for Tagaret begins, Colonel?”
“All hope is not lost, General,” frowned the colonel. “Perhaps the answer to our dilemma resides in Danver Shores. The locals might know of a shorter route to Tagaret, and they may have horses that we can seize to transport the men faster, or perhaps even boats to ferry the men up the coast to make up for lost time.”
The colonel started sweating, and it was not entirely due to the heat and humidity of the swamp. He had not reported that all of the mage deaths were not natural. He had been afraid to, but the last mage had been found in his tent, not on the banks of the channels. He sighed nervously. If he lost his rank, the colonel would be in for a rough time with the troops he used to command. They would relish the chance to exact revenge against him for slights imagined or real. He decided to gamble everything.
“All is not lost yet, General. I will find a way to get us to Tagaret on time. Have faith in me, and I will make this problem go away.”
Less than a league ahead of the Federation column, the King of the Gypsies stood where the two bridges had been removed the night before. Moth landed on Adan’s shoulder and reported the progress of the column. The gypsy nodded in acknowledgement as he watched the men under his command rush the preparations. He gazed at the long, horseshoe-shaped barricade that surrounded the bridge area and the catapults that had been dragged into position. Three-hundred men of the Melbin Guards were putting the finishing touches on the barricades and placing bundles of arrows at each position. The gypsy king nodded in appreciation.
“We will be ready for them, Moth,” the gypsy said. “Do you need to rest, or would you like to return to the sky to keep watch over the enemy?”
“I will keep watch on them,” the chubby fairy replied enthusiastically. “If they do not agree to your terms, I could deliver a myric quill to the general. Maybe his successor would be more agreeable.”
Adan laughed at the feisty fairy. The tale of Moth’s courageous attack had spread through the gypsy camp, and many of the gypsies were praising the little man’s courage. “We will see how General Pryblick reacts soon enough, Moth, but I will keep your offer in mind. Would you like a boost?”
“No,” the fairy responded. “I need the practice if I am to become a gypsy.”
Moth flapped his wings and grunted, but he could not take off from a still position. With a sigh of resignation, he ran along Adan’s shoulder and threw himself off. Adan smiled as he noticed that the stout fairy did not fall quite as far as usual before darting upward. The gypsy walked away from the bridge approach and walked to the barricade where one of the Melbin Guards was supervising the construction.