As the evil jailer cackled with delight, Flash turned his head to look at Fredric. The hope that had been carved into his face moments ago had disappeared. There must have been thirty or so nagas surrounding them in the cavern. Flash hadn't been prepared for all of this. Half a dozen or so he could take, but not this. Never this!
6
A Surprising Blow
They'd all been watered (in Richie's case, quite literally) and fed. Dragons encircling the humans roared with laughter at the dumbstruck looks their charges gave the cooking equipment... a faint glimmer of amusement on a very dark day. For their part, the humans were fascinated by the sheer size of the pots, pans and utensils. Hook was keen to find out what a dragon portion of breakfast looked like, and was desperate to try one. In the end he had to settle for a helping of beans, bacon and dragon toast (toasted with the flame from a dragon's mouth) three times the size of a normal human amount. Everything was cooked to perfection.
Sitting in and around the still slightly stunned humans, dragons wolfed down industrial amounts of bacon and beans, the occasional 'crunch' of dark charcoal being gobbled up interrupting the whispered conversations. Having taken his seat with the others, Gee Tee mused about just how good the breakfast was, something he continually reminded Tank about, much to the rugby player's annoyance.
Almost as soon as it had started, it was done, and the motley group of dragons and humans were ready to move out. All but one of the tors had decided to stay at the nursery ring, much to Richie's disappointment. They had, however, gained nine of the older students, with the much younger ones having been forbidden to join by the tors with them, considering the doomed quest nothing short of suicidal.
A standing semicircle of dragons and humans surrounded Richie, the raggedy bunch waiting for their instructions, humans at the front, dragons behind, apart from the old shopkeeper who sat slumped on the world's biggest cushion, off to one side.
It was time!
"You've chosen me to lead you," Richie announced to the gathered crowd. "In doing so, you've sworn your undying loyalty to free our king and take back the kingdom that is rightfully ours. Now is not the time to falter. We all need to be strong, brave, courageous and fearless. Everything, the fate of the underground domain that we love so much, the fate of the planet even, depends on us and our actions today. It won't be pretty, it won't be nice. All of us will have to do things we won't want to," she said, knowing that hers was only moments away. "Some of us won't be coming back."
Richie paused, letting a long silence encompass the courtyard. She wanted them to think about what was to come, how dire things were... the severity of what they were about to embark upon. The stoic look on all their faces told her they were doing just that. After what she judged long enough, she resumed.
"Here and now, we're going to split into two forces. One to take back Fleet Street, hopefully allowing us get communications with the rest of the world back online, with the other heading to the council building, its primary mission to rescue the king. That comes before anything else. Secondary to rescuing the king is defeating Manson's army, no mean feat given how badly outnumbered we are. Everyone here is to use whatever means possible to accomplish those tasks. Today, everything will be forgiven and forgotten, on that you have my word. I take full responsibility for every single act that occurs today. You will all have to be ruthless, efficient, brave and bold. You'll need to seize opportunities when they arise. You'll need all your training and knowledge. If we're to succeed, you'll have to think outside the box, use your imagination to create magic, mayhem and misery. Use your anger. Unleash those primal instincts that you all keep bottled up. Today is not a day for regrets. One day. One chance. One outcome!"
Again, another pause, this time for effect, letting her words sink in, inspire.
"So now to the teams! I don't want any questions, arguments or suggestions. My mind is made up. In an ideal situation we'd have hundreds, if not thousands of dragons to take on Manson's army. We don't. So we just have to live with it, and do the best we can. Gee Tee, master mantra maker and the wisest dragon I know, will lead the group to retake Fleet Street. You need to follow his instructions without question, no matter how bizarre they may seem. He, and he alone, is the reason we are currently in any state to fight. Most of you would already be captured or dead if not for him. Remember that! Sam, Taibul, Emma and Angela, having worked so well together back in Salisbridge, you will be the human contingent. I'd like you," she said, pointing to one of the dragon healers who had helped heal Flash when he was saving Tank from his injuries during the previous battle, "to go. Along with all of you," she ordered, splitting off half a dozen of the Salisbridge dragons from the main group with a wave of her hand. Gee Tee smiled inanely at seeing the beautiful female dragon he'd only just got acquainted with, head his way. Richie went on to assign five of the nursery ring students, as well as the only tor to volunteer, to Gee Tee's group.
"I know as fighting forces go, this is incredibly small, but there really is no other choice. You may find you'll be able to pick up other dragons along the way. Hopefully what you'll be up against will be minimal. The rest of you will be going to the council building." What she'd missed out from that was the 'with me'. "There are two things I haven't mentioned so far, so listen up. Your strengths lie in your togetherness. Work in sync, fight and stay strong for one another. Watch each other's backs. You are stronger as a team. That I truly believe. That could make the difference today."
Richie swallowed, dreading what she had to do next, as those gathered around her looked on.
"For those of you not going to Fleet Street, a more dangerous mission I cannot imagine. But it has to be done, and done today. What you'll face at the council building, we really don't know. But you can assume you'll be dealing with beings who have no compunction about using deadly force. Torture and murder will be top of their agenda if they capture you. Remember that. Fight for your lives, for the lives of others, those around you, those that have already been killed by these twisted monsters. Fight with everything you have, right up until your very last breath, should it come to that."
Richie ran her hand through her curly brown locks, noting how matted and tangled they were. So far she'd shied away from it, but she knew if she didn't blurt it out now then she just wouldn't, and everything would be lost. So that's exactly what she did. She blurted it out.
"Tank will be leading this group," she stated, pointing directly towards her friend.
Eyes bulged, jaws dropped, looks of confusion spread across all of those gathered, not least Tank, who had absolutely no idea what was going on. Closing her eyes for a split second, she tried to compose her thoughts and filter out the turmoil of everything inside her mind. To an extent, she succeeded. By now though, whispered grumbles had started to spread across the crowd. Knowing that her leadership was hanging by a thread, she fought to find the right words.