"WHAT!" cried Cole and Leeta at once.
Cole couldn't believe what he had just heard. He looked down at the small Emperor with utter awe. The small man was olive skinned, with a small round face, a thin black mustache, and a small stubby nose. He wore bright red hose, a dark blue, frilly tunic, and a giant red robe. On top of his head was a gold crown. The Dragonmaster continued to stare at the Emperor until he could get a hold of the situation. Leeta, however, had already composed herself.
"My dear, Emperor," said Leeta in a calm voice. "What on earth are you talking about?"
The small man thrust a stubby finger at Cole. "Yesterday, a Shao'lin Temple within the Spinal Mountains was attacked. Your Dragonmaster and a Dragon were seen laying waste to the temple city!"
"That's impossible!" cried Leeta. "Cole was with me last night."
"I have an eye witnesses, Princess!" shouted the Emperor. "This conversation is over. We are now at war!" He turned and stormed off back to his air ship followed by his honor guard.
Minutes later, the airship was making a speedy departure from Lucitanian air space. Leeta turned to the mass of people gathered behind her and started to shout orders. "Minister Nian, Take the rest of the ministers and go the the council chambers! I'll be there shortly." Then she spun around and looked Cole right in the eyes. "You, come with me. We have to talk."
Cole swallowed and followed her hesitantly. He walked past Argile, grabbed the big man's arm, and dragged him along. Argile did the same to Fox. The two Knights and the Dragonmaster followed the Princess into a small library. She sat down in a red velvet lined chair. She sighed and looked up at Cole. "What did you do this time?"
Cole placed his Helmet down on a table and dropped into another chair. "I swear on the Goddess that I haven't left the palace in days."
Leeta stared at the Knights. "And what about you two?"
Argile leaned up against a book shelf. "Don't look at me, Princess."
Fox sat down on the carpeted floor and crossed his legs. "I've been tending to Carmen."
Leeta shot up from the chair. "Then what the hell is going on!" she screamed.
Cole got up and went to her side. He put his arms around he shoulders and she leaned on him. "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice. "It's just, we can't handle a war right now. We're still hurting from Ziatoch's attack. Most of our army was wiped out by the Vile's, and the treasury has been cleaned out in order to rebuild the city."
Cole stroked the back of her head. "Don't worry, hun. We'll find out what's going on. Why don't you go and handle the ministers, and let us do some investigating."
She sniffled and smiled. "You're right." She regained some of her composure. "You guys see what you can find out, and I'll try to stall the ministers from raising the army." She kissed him lightly on the cheek and left the library.
Cole waited until she was gone before speaking. "Okay, first things first. You two go into town and see what you can find out. Start with the more powerful guilds and then move towards the seedier parts of the city."
"And what are you going to do?" asked Argile.
Cole was about to answer, when a small sneeze interrupted him. The Dragonmaster turned around and walked over to the fireplace at the opposite side of the room. He knelt and reached up into the chimney and groped around until he found what he was looking for. With one hand, he grabbed a hold of three small furry tails and pulled down. Soot filled the air around him. When it cleared, Cole cast a stern gaze at the three baby dragons in his hand.
"Well," was all Cole said.
He opened his hand and the three dragon kids fell to the ground. After several moments of mumbling from the three cats with wings, Vaul stepped forward. He was the oldest of the three by several minutes. Beneath the soot, Cole could still see the baby dragon's gold colored fur. Vaul looked up at him with bright blue eyes and smiled. "Uhhh, we were looking for Alleia's ribbon."
"Really," replied Cole. "You seem to have found it because it's on her head."
"Yeah," said Alleia the baby White Dragon. "I have no idea how it got into that chimney." She motioned with a soot covered paw to the green ribbon wrapped wound her head.
"I don't think he's buying it, guys," said Narin the baby Red Dragon as he straightened the small black bandanna around his furry neck.
Cole smiled slightly but said nothing. Finally, Vaul spoke. "All right, we'll tell you the truth." The baby Gold Dragon spread his small wings, flew up, and perched on the Dragonmaster's right shoulder. "We were fooling around in here, when you guys and Leeta came in. Something was up, and we knew that you'd send us away."
"So you heard it all?" asked Fox,who was on his feet now.
The three dragon kids nodded. "Then you might as well go and find your mother and tell her what's going on," said Cole.
"Yes, Cole," replied the three of them at once. They all spread their wings and flew out of the room.
Cole looked at Fox and Argile. Both of the Knights were trying to suppress their very big smiles. A small smile found its way onto the Dragonmaster's troubled face as he watched the three kids leave. AÊthought crossed his mind while he looked at them. Ruby had told them all that originally there had only been two minds within her womb. Then at the last weeks of the pregnancy, there was a new consciousness that she had not noticed before. It seemed that the third presence had been shielded by an unknown power, so that Ziatoch would over look it.
"As I was saying earlier," continued Cole. "While you two search the city, I'm going to go and get some help."
"Who?" asked Argile.
"I'm getting Carla and the others," answered Cole. "We're gonna to need all the help we can get."
"Well, then we'd better get started right away." Argile led the way as he and Fox left the library.
Cole picked up his Helmet and stood in the center of the small library for a moment. There was something odd about this whole situation. How could he have been sighted in the Spinal Mountains, if he had never even been there? First, he thought it might have been a doppleganger. Then he remembered the Emperor mentioning a Dragon, and he discarded that idea. The Dragonmaster sighed and left the small library to tell Leeta of his plans.
"We cannot announce this to the public!" shouted Leeta. "If the people know that we are now at a state of war with the Eastern Empire, there could be a full scale panic!"
"I know you are concerned, my lady," replied Minister Garanna in a calm voice. He was a tall man wearing red and brown colored robes. He had thin brown hair and a small mustache. His eyes were narrow and gray with a gaze that was always challenging."But we need to raise the army in case of invasion."
Leeta closed her eyes and rose from her chair. "We don't know that there will be any actual battles, yet. I still think that I can negotiate with the Emperor."
"I agree with the Princess," said Minister Holamar. Leeta smiled as the old man came to her defense. "The Emperor is a reasonable man. A battle could still be avoided."
"How do we know that the Emperor hasn't already deployed a fleet of ships filled with an invasion force?" said Garanna. "They could be only a few days off of our shores."
"Impossible," answered Leeta. "Their most advanced sea based vessel would take at little over a week from the nearest functioning port on their western shores. The Emperor's airship takes only days to travel that distance, but the ship we saw is the only one in existence. Our spells of foresight would also alert us the minute an invasion fleet left their docks."
"What if they are able to shield the fleet?" asked the small balding Minister Tasid.
"I would still know," said Leeta with a menacing tone.
"We are obviously getting nowhere this way," said Minister Holamar. "Why don't we compromise. We can keep the public ignorant for a short time, but we could still start to build up our defenses. We shall just tell them that it is a training exorcise. Of course the people will be suspicious, but this story will give us enough time to prepare for the worst."
"That sounds fare enough," said Leeta. She gave Garanna a challenging stare. "Is this arrangement good enough for you, Minister?"
He nodded and rose from his seat at the council table. Leeta looked at all the council members. "If that's all, then this secession is adjourned."
The Ministers all rose and left the room. Leeta sighed and collapsed back into her chair. Holamar came over to her. "How are you doing?"
She smiled up at the old man. He wore a gray and white robe, a small white beard grew from the tip of his chin, what white hair he had left was cut very short, and his soft brown eyes looked at her with compassion. "I'm a little worn out from this sudden turn of events, but I think I'll be all right."
He patted her shoulder. "As long as you stay positive, you'll be fine." He nodded his head to her. "I'm sorry, Leeta, but I must leave now. Good day."
"Good day to you, Holamar," returned the Princess.
Leeta wiped her hand across her face and rose from the chair. She turned and saw Cole standing in the doorway. She smile halfheartedly and went to him. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he put his arm around her waist. "I heard that last part of the debate. Garanna is right you know."
She stepped away from him. "Is that the only reason you came over here? To tell me that."
"No," said the green eyed warrior simply. She hated it when he took on that maddening Dragonmaster calmness. "I came to tell you that I'm going to Lunar."
The Princess was silent for a moment. "Why?" was all she said.
He placed both his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "I've got a plan, but I'm going to need some help. I'm going to go find Carla and the others. Something tells me that we'll need the whole team before this is over."
She brightened a little at the mention of the small Premier. "I wish I could go with you."
He rubbed the sides of her arms. "So do I, but you have to stay here and make sure things don't go wrong. And don't worry because Argile and Fox will still be here." He leaned down and kissed her. It lasted for a few moments until he drew away. "I'll be back as soon as I can." Then, in a swirl of teleportation magic, he was gone.
The Demon Dragonmaster gazed down upon the capital city of the Eastern Empire, Yis-Toril. It lay at the foot of a mountain range and right on the edge of a rather large river. The city spanned for several miles, but he wasn't very impressed. To his right stood the four Demon Dragons. On his left were the Demon Dragon Knights. "Are our forces in place?" he asked Arlax.
"Yes," replied the Chaos Dragon.
"Then give the order to attack the city," commanded Kole. "Those beasts should be able to overcome their defenses."
Arlax made a gesture, and a great horn sounded down below. Suddenly, waves of underworld creatures assaulted the city from all directions. Within minutes, the city walls had crumbled. Kole watched his forces take the doomed metropolis with ease. "Come, let us go and see the results."
The small group appeared at the ruined entrance to the decimated city. Kole strode in followed by the Knights and the Dragons. He looked around and saw demons tearing apart soldiers and civilians. He turned slightly to Arlax. "Remember not to kill all of the city's occupants. We will need slaves."
The group continued until they arrived at the center of the city. The Emperor's palace was in flames. The bodies of soldiers littered the area around it. Kole stared at the orange flames licking the sides of the massive palace. He closed his eyes for a moment. Out of nowhere, large waves of water began to crash upon the burning fortification until all of the flames were snuffed out. Then the Demon Dragonmaster raised his right hand. The black gloved hand started to glow a deep red.
The ground shook and chunks of earth flew through the air. The center of the palace suddenly exploded as something rose out of the ground. A tall, deep black shape emerged and reached up towards the heavens. Seconds later, an immense tower stood in the center of what used to be the Imperial Palace. A combination of pre Great War and Gothic architectural features, it extended up above the clouds. Kole turned to his companions and smiled evilly. "Welcome to Xobelisk."