It was night around Xobelisk. Deep within the tower of Xobelisk itself, the Demon Dragonmaster sat on a throne of the blackest marble. Foot steps echoed within the hall, and Kole opened his eyes. Miraje and Arlax were walking towards him. "You summoned us?" asked Miraje.
"Yes," said Kole quietly. "Everything is proceeding as planned. My counterpart and his Knights are on the way here." He looked at Miraje. "I want you to contact Vasen and his forces marching to the West. Tell them to allow my double to pass relatively unmolested."
"Relatively unmolested?" said Miraje.
"Yes," Kole said flatly. "We don't want them to suspect that we know they're coming. A few attempts to kill them will be sufficient. Now go." Miraje nodded his head and left the hall.
The Demon Dragonmaster looked towards Arlax. "And what do you wish of me?" asked the Chaos Dragon.
"I want you to mobilize the rest of our forces and begin a march towards the Western continents."
A look of disbelief crossed the Dragon's face. "But if we move now, won't they see us coming?"
"Normally, they might," replied Kole. "But two things may shield your presence from them. First, you'll be taking our forces across an area that was once a land bridge between the Eastern and Western continents. Due to chaotic weather patterns and relative obscurity, you will have sufficient cover to cross unnoticed. And second, the peoples of the West will be a little too preoccupied to notice you coming."
"Preoccupied?" said Arlax. "How so?"
Kole only smiled evilly. "They'll be preoccupied, and that's all you need to know. Now go."
Arlax grunted and left without saying another word. Kole watched the Chaos Dragon leave. The Demon Dragonmaster knew that the Dragon couldn't be trusted, but he was also necessary to the success of the plan. Kole smiled to himself. He would deal with Arlax in good time. The Demon Dragonmaster pushed all thoughts away and returned to his meditation.
Cole tossed the last pack from the ship and disembarked. It had been a slow four days as the party had crossed the Talantic Ocean, but earlier that day they had finally arrived in Yin-Pral. Mirage had traded the ship for a few silver and some horses. The moment Cole stepped off the ship, its new owner set sail immediately and raced out of the harbor. "Do you think we should have told him that the Wind engines were almost empty?" asked Connery as he picked up his pack.
"He'll find out soon enough," replied Fox flatly.
The others chuckled at the plainsman's cool remark. "So where are the horses this guy promised us?" said Connery to Mirage.
Mirage gestured towards the city. "He said they were being kept in a garrison stable in the Northern sector." He pulled a pink piece of paper from a pouch. "If we show this to the garrison soldiers, they should give us the horses."
Cole nodded. "Good. You hold on to that, Mirage." The Dragonmaster continued to speak as he bent down and to rummage through his pack. "Before we go any farther, make sure to hide your Crests. We don't need to be recognized by the locals. Then cover any distinctive features of your weapons with some cloth." He lifted the Goddess' Sword as an example. The golden hilt had several pieces of white cloth tied tightly around it in order to mask the Sword's identity.
The Knight's complied and proceeded to tuck their crests beneath their tunics and wrap up their own weapons. "Hey, Cole," said Mirage as he wrapped. "Where are you keeping the Dragon equipment?"
"Well, I'm wearing the Armor under my clothes, the Wings and Helmet are in my pack, and the Shield is hanging at my side with a piece of leather tied over the front," replied the Dragonmaster.
Argile grimaced. "Isn't that uncomfortable?"
"Hell yeah," said Cole. "But that's the only way I can hide it." He secured the items in his pack and rose. "Finish up, and let's get moving. It's a long way to Yis-Toril."
Minutes later, the small band of heroes were walking through the streets of Yin-Pral. It was probably once a beautiful city, thought Cole, but now it was just one giant refuge for the damned. The streets were littered with people of all ages, who had been driven from their homes in other cities by this mysterious army. As the five men headed towards the garrison head quarters, they were able to learn more about what was happening.
Apparently, this new army of darkness was able to cover large distances in a very short time. It had already conquered most the Empire's interior. The Emperor had been presumed dead, and now the remains of the Empire were controlled by the surviving military leaders. According to local reports, a part of the Hades Army, which it had been dubbed, had just conquered the fort cities of Yal-Marit and Yal-Horit, not one weeks distance from the coast. From what Cole was able to find out, those had been two of the Empire's largest military outposts, and they had fallen within hours of each other. And now that the same portion of the Hades Army was only one day away from Yin-Pral. As the garrison came into view, Cole and Connery were discussing how an army could travel so fast.
"It's got to be magic," said Cole. "How else could they move so quickly?"
Connery was shaking his head. "They'd have to be using some kind of machine in tandem with the magic. Otherwise, there would have to be some extremely powerful mages on their side."
Cole nodded in agreement. "Either way, we're going to have to find out how the Hades Army moves so fast."
"Um, I hate to intrude on your little pow-wow," interrupted Mirage," but we're here."
The Dragonmaster and thief looked up and saw the small gray building that was the garrison. Everyone else waited outside while Mirage went in to acquire the horses. Moments later, Mirage burst out of the garrison howling a variety of curses. "What's the matter?" asked Argile hesitantly.
"The bastards won't give us the damn horses," snapped the Pirate Lord. "They say all mounts will be needed for the defense of the city." He threw his arms up in the air and shouted more obscenities in the direction of the gray building.
While Mirage continued to rant, Cole was already forming a plan in his mind. He pulled the others aside in order to avoid Mirage's tantrum. "Okay, as soon as he calms down, we're going to take the horses anyway."
A big smile formed on Connery's face. "I knew you'd stoop to my level sooner or later," said the thief with a chuckle.
Cole gave him a half smile. "I'm not stooping that low, yet. I'm just looking at reality. Let's face it, this city is doomed. If the Hades Army could destroy two heavily armed fort cities in a matter of hours, the most brilliant strategist couldn't save this place. So, five missing horses won't make much of a difference."
Argile looked at Fox. "You have to admit that his logic is sound."
"Yes," agreed Fox. "There is no hope for the people in this city. I only wish there was something we could do to help them."
Cole laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. "If we find the source of this Army and stop it, we will be doing something."
A little light returned to the plainsman's face. "You are right, my friend. So when do we take the horses?" Connery smiled again at the word "take".
"First we have to wait for loud mouth over there to shut up," said Cole as he motioned to the still raging Mirage. "Then at night fall..."
"How many?" whispered Mirage to the pair of boots sticking up over the edge of the roof.
"One...two...no wait! I think I see five," came Connery's horse whisper.
The little thief scrambled back up onto the roof, and Mirage drew his Scimitar. "Wait, put that away," snapped Connery. "Remember, Cole said no dead bodies."
The Pirate reluctantly sheathed his weapon. "So how do we get past the guards?"
Connery reached into a pouch at his side and withdrew a small metal ball. "With this."
"What is it?"
The thief smiled. "Essence of Herbal Breeze. A sleep spell for those of us who are magically impaired." He chuckled lightly and leaned over the edge of the roof. With a flick of his wrist, the thief tossed the ball through an open window.
Moments later, both men heard the tell tale sounds of bodies collapsing on the floor. Mirage watched Connery slide through the open window and into the stables. Then the stable doors swung open, and Connery led out five horses. Together, they saddled their new mounts and headed for the nearest city gate.
Mirage slowed his horse and stopped before the giant wooden gate doors. Two guards, armed with crossbows, stepped forward. "And where are you going, friends?" asked on of them.
"Herb hunt?" said Connery innocently.
The guards cocked their weapons. "All right, let's not have any trouble. Now, you two get off those horses and toss your weapons on the ground," snarled one of them.
Mirage and Connery were about to comply, when a large shadow rose up behind the guards. Two large hands appeared and grabbed each of the guards by the head. With ease, the hands smashed the heads together, knocking the guards unconscious. Mirage exhaled. "Took you long enough."
Argile stepped out of the shadows with a smile on his face. "Hey, it takes some time for a man my size to sneak up on people." The large man kicked a nearby lever, and the gate doors swung open. He joined his fellow Knights on horse back, and the three of them rode out of the city to meet Cole and Fox.
As the three Knights moved farther from the city gate, another shadow detached itself from the wall. Damion squinted to catch the last glimpse of the now distant riders. So these were the ones he was supposed to protect. No, he was only supposed to protect one, and that one wasn't among the three that just left. With a thought, he called his Raven. The bird crowed and landed on his shoulder. "Go and track them. I'll follow on foot." The bird gave a low groan and sprang into the air after the Knights.
The Avenger watched his partner fly ahead. Those three would lead him to the one he must protect. And then this person would lead him to his revenge. Damion started to leave, when he caught a movement from the corner of his eye. A black dirk flew from his right hand and impaled itself in a shadow on the wall. There was a dying cry, and a dark scaled imp fell to the ground dead.
Damion calmly walked over to the corpse. "A spy," he said flatly. "Something isn't right about this. Why would it just watch them leave and not attack?"
Suddenly, there were footsteps running down the street. Using inhuman speed, Damion dashed from the scene and out of the city. As he ran, the Avenger's own vision was replaced by that of the Raven's. The three riders had stopped and met up with two more men. A faint ringing sound went off in his mind as he laid his eyes upon one of the new men. Filled with a sense of insecurity about the current situation, Damion ran as fast as he could to catch up with his charge.