Huma agreed, albeit with great reluctance. They were in Avondale’s hands at present; there really was no choice—and he would be a good man to have on one’s side, Huma decided.
It was agreed that Huma would again ride the silver dragon, while Buoron and Avondale would take the younger male and female, respectively. This left Kaz with the volatile Bolt. As Huma had suspected, the minotaur and the bronze dragon took to one another like two old soldiers. His only fear was that the two might take it on themselves to charge on ahead, and he voiced this opinion to the silver dragon.
She chuckled. “Bolt and Kaz do indeed make a troublesome pair, but the dragon at least knows better—I think. I shall warn him once we are in the air.”
“Make sure it’s understood that the warning is for both of them.”
“There will be no doubts.”
They had wanted to leave without fanfare, but Faran would not hear of it. The second-in-command had an honor guard waiting to see them off.
Bolt, especially, was intrigued by the Dragonlance. Already a terror in the skies—according to himself—he claimed he now had the perfect edge with the lance and Kaz in the saddle. The silver dragons all looked on in poorly masked amusement, although Huma’s did admit shortly thereafter that the bronze dragon’s words were not bluster. He was indeed a formidable opponent.
The dragons rose into the sky one at a time, with Huma and his mount the first, Kaz and Bolt last. The sun was already well into the sky, but with the dragons bearing them, they would cover a vast distance that day in any case.
By the time night had triumphed, they had long passed the border into Solamnia. One thing they had not thought of slowed them, though. The drizzle that had started in Ergoth was a downpour at this point, and all four riders were soaked. The dragons seemed unaffected, especially the bronze, who seemed to enjoy the shafts of lightning that almost skewered them twice. At Huma’s urging, they finally landed for the night in the hope that the morning would bring better conditions. The dragons formed a protective square around them and the four set up the two tents Avondale had thought to bring along. The tents kept the rain from them and Huma’s only regret was that the true smell of a wet minotaur became very obvious as the night aged.
In the morning, Kaz had the same comment about him.
The rain did not cease, but it did lighten. The riders covered themselves with their cloaks or in the few blankets they had brought. Thanks to the dragons, they would be within the vicinity of Vingaard Keep in two days. Had they not been burdened by the extra lances, it would have taken even less time.
Still, their journey was by no means over, for now they were to face the Dragonqueen’s forces. Dracos had a stranglehold on the heart of Solamnia, for he had finally cut off northern and southern routes into and out of Vingaard, effectively creating a wall that encircled the Keep. Supplies were becoming scarce. Control of the sky was still a question, but morale was having its effect even on the dragons of light. The only thing that had kept them going, the silver dragon revealed, was the rumor of the Dragonlance.
The male silver was in the lead when they felt the first probe in their direction. A presence was nearby, reaching out with magic to detect outsiders. The probe was no more than a momentary contact with their minds, but it was enough to send the entire group into an abrupt halt.
“Back!” cried the male.
The four leviathans whirled and retreated some distance back along their route. They conferred as they flew.
“What was it we felt?” Huma’s female asked.
“A mind—not a dragon’s mind, but a powerful human mind. Undisciplined, too. This one was never a student of the Orders of Magic.”
“Not a cleric?”
The male shook his massive head. “No, definitely a mage. A renegade.”
Huma looked around nervously. “Surely, he is not a threat to you!”
“Physically, no, Huma.” It was his own silver dragon who replied. “But he would have no trouble warning others of our presence—if he hasn’t already—and those others may be a threat. His sole purpose is to watch the skies.”
“Let me take him!” Bolt shouted.
“What would you do,” the young female silver asked, “that could possibly prevent him from sending out a message before you strike?”
The bronze dragon clamped his mouth shut.
“I think,” the silver male commented, “that an opening has been left for us. He is, after all, only human. I will fly to a level much higher than we normally fly. Once there, it is possible that I can discover whether his range of power can extend that high. I must risk our discovery to be sure.” He added, “If my companion has no objections . . .”
Buoron shook his head, although he gripped the saddle pommel tightly.
“What of the rest of you?”
There was no argument from the others. Taking that as a positive response, the male spiraled once and then turned skyward. As Buoron held on, the silver male began to soar higher and higher and higher until he was lost in the cloud cover. Several minutes passed while the others waited anxiously. Then Huma spotted a form breaking through the clouds.
Buoron was rather pale, but otherwise seemed none the worse. His dragon seemed elated. “I was correct. So typical of many earthbound minds; his search extends only to the cloud cover. As far as he is concerned, anything above that does not exist.”
“I could’ve thought of that!” complained Bolt.
“You did not, and neither did I,” commented Huma’s dragon. “Now that I hear it, it amazes me. I had forgotten how closed-minded some humans are. Still, he may yet come to that realization by accident, so we had better move quickly.”
The others followed Huma and his companion skyward, soaring up until they burst into the cloud cover, the mists, and then broke through to the other side. From there, they estimated their present position from Vingaard Keep and continued their journey.
The dragons flew on through the night while their riders slept. Huma awoke to the sound of Kaz arguing with the great reptilian creatures about the need for them to land before every muscle in his body stiffened, war or no war. The dragons themselves were visibly tired and ready to land in order to get a new fix on their positions.
First Bolt, then the others spiraled swiftly downward.
The bronze dragon disappeared into the silky, white sea, followed quickly by the other silver female. Huma and the silver dragon followed next.
The cool mist surrounded him, and he could not even see the dragon’s head. A harsh, grating crashing came from below them and Huma’s first thoughts were that they were entering into a tremendous storm. Then, suddenly, they were out of the cloudcover—
—and into chaos.
They had assumed, incorrectly, that they had crossed beyond the enemy forces. Huma’s mind spun with horrible nightmares as he realized how tightly the Keep was surrounded. Fighting raged everywhere.
Men and ogres were clashing furiously with one another. In Huma’s eyes, it seemed as if the land below was swarming with the dead and dying. Both sides were advancing and retreating at the same time, depending upon where he looked. It was chaos. Dragons of Takhisis continually dove down, assaulting both the ravaged lines of the knights and any of their ogre allies who were unfortunate enough to be too near. There were dragons of gold, silver, bronze, and copper, but they always seemed outnumbered. Worse yet, there prevailed a sense of malevolent power all about that the courage of the good dragons could not seem to counter. Even up here, away from the battle, Huma could feel discouragement and surrender building up within his soul.
“Takhisis is here,” Huma’s companion muttered to him. “She is here on Krynn, feeding our cousins with her power, chilling the minds of her enemies. I did not think she could retain so much of her power on the mortal plain. It is as if she were before us herself.”