Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (44 page)

“Likewise,” Decray answered and looked toward Gallanth with a slight bow in a sign of deference.

“And draw swords you will do,” Gallanth answered over the gathered soldiers as he raised his head.

“General Daddonan wants us to move to our position as soon as possible, Mkel,” Decray said as he shook Mkel’s hand.

“Understandable. Do your rangers watching the enemy encampment have the plan?” Mkel asked.

“They have two scouts waiting beside the gully as we speak. It is roughly a mile from the camp and affords good concealment from the ground. From the air is a different story, though, with the sparse vegetation there,” Decray explained.

“Gallanth and Jodem will take care of that with a little illusion. The site sits north and east of the enemy camp, so it is so far not in the direct flight path of any reinforcements that have been flying in. And that includes chromatics. They are and likely will continue coming from the southeast,” Mkel surmised. “Hopefully the appearance of Colonel Lordan and Lieutenant Padonan with Talonth and Strikenth will keep the chromatic dragons focused on them and not looking around their camp,” Mkel continued. “Well, speak of the silvers,” Mkel noted as Strikenth and Talonth walked up with their riders. Gallanth stood up to accept the silvers’ head bows in their gesture of deference. “Colonel, I wish you good luck today. And could you be so good as to keep them busy and share a little of the work load we’ve been experiencing lately?” Mkel jested to the senior silver rider as he rendered him a salute.

“Have no worries there, Captain. The good lieutenant and I, with our dragons, will deal with anything we encounter. So you and Gallanth can do your little hide-and-seek game,” Lordan said with a smile.

“Plus two silvers definitely equals a gold,” Padonan added in his usual joking manner.

“Well, what a momentous occasion, a Weirleader and a precocious Capital dragonrider actually cooperating on a joint attack. This is truly an event to remember,” Mkel quipped back, and all three dragons snorted in their unique form of a short laugh.

“Point well taken, Captain; we must go and coordinate with General Daddonan while they are getting their troops ready,” Colonel Lordan smiled and answered, while gripping his powerful lance.

“Yes sir, and Padonan, don’t lose that pinwheel of yours,” Mkel said with a smile.

“Well, just shoot straight for once, Captain,” the silver dragonrider quipped back, as he pulled his glaive from its lanyard. The center sapphire dragonstone glowed, with the six mithril blades all extending at once, brilliantly shining in the predawn morning. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the deadly star-like weapon streaking past Mkel, spinning so fast that it looked like a blur. The weapon made a wide arc around Mkel and Gallanth, quickly finding its way back to Padonan’s outstretched hand. It flew much faster than Ordin’s hammer but was also much smaller, and it was a cutting weapon, while Donnac was a large crushing instrument.

“Impressive, my friend, but more importantly, strength and luck to both of you,” Mkel saluted with his fist over his heart, which they both returned. Saluting was not just a military courtesy among the dragonriders that were actual Alliance officers or soldiers, but a gesture of acknowledgment and kinship among the riders themselves. The two silver dragons walked away toward the eastern side of the keep, where the Battle Point legion was gathering. It would take both of the large silvers to teleport the partial legion at once, and even then it would be tight. Gallanth gave Talonth and Strikenth a luck prayer in Draconic, which they acknowledged. Luck wished by a gold dragon was prized, even by a silver dragon.

“All right, gentlemen, let me call General Daddonan and let him know we are going to leave,” Mkel said to the assembled men, as he pulled out his seeing crystal. “General Daddonan, sir.”

“Yes, Captain Mkel,” the general answered.

“We are going to be teleporting momentarily, sir; any last-minute directives?” Mkel asked.

“No, I have faith in your men and mine. Keep me informed, as will I, and the strength of the Creator to you all. Bring our brothers home,” General Daddonan espoused.

“Yes sir,” Mkel answered. “Sir, the elf wizard, Lady Beckann, will be moving with your supply trains for added protection, and our cleric Watterseth will be staying here, just as a precautionary measure.” Mkel put his crystal back into its pouch on his belt. “All right, gentlemen, mount up,” Mkel ordered, and everyone moved to their mounts. “Decray, do you have the current image in your crystal of our destination from your men on the ground?” he asked.

“Yes,” he replied as he pulled his seeing crystal out.

“Good, can you hold it up so Gallanth can see it?” Mkel asked. The ranger captain held up the crystal, which still carried the image that was transferred from his men’s crystals at the site.

“I have a clear picture of where we are to go. Captain Decray, tell your men to stand clear,” Gallanth spoke as he transferred the image telepathically to Mkel.

“Gentlemen, please gather as close to Gallanth as possible,” Mkel instructed. “When we teleport in, make sure to control your mounts to keep them quiet.”

Ordin secured himself into the third seat behind Mkel, just in front of Gallanth’s larger back ridges. He had a smile on his face; Mkel didn’t know whether it was for the upcoming fight, or from the fact that he was mounted on Gallanth, and not Alvanch, or another smaller mount.

Gallanth spread his wings to begin the process. Jodem waved a salutatory good-bye, along with Beckann, who raised her palm to her husband in an elvish gesture of luck and fondness. Mkel wished they could accompany them, for wizards of their power were always welcome in a fight, no matter what the odds, but the Battle Point legion needed them more. Andellion was still recuperating and would be too weak to put up an effective fight, especially if the enemy had a sorcerer of some power or several beholder creatures. They would save many lives today by fighting alongside the legionnaires.

The familiar blue light streaks surrounded them, and in an instant they were gone. They reappeared in the shallow gully surrounded by small trees and scrub. Gallanth quickly folded his wings and lay down. The spell Jodem cast over the gold dragon before the teleportation was taking effect, making Gallanth appear like a rock outcropping if you looked at him from a distance. Up close, the illusion was apparent do to the distance from Jodem, but from overhead and from a quick glance, as long as he remained still, his immense body blended in with the countryside. Having Jodem cast the spell made it harder for another dragon or sorcerer to detect the magic than if Gallanth had done it himself.

Mkel made sure to secure all his gear, slung Markthrea over his shoulder, and began to climb down, with Ordin immediately following him. All the others dismounted and gathered their arms and gear. Mkel and Decray then signaled for everyone to meet in front of Gallanth after they secured their mounts. As everyone gathered, Decray and Mkel both placed their seeing crystals together, along with the ranger that had guided them there. An image appeared from the crystals that imitated the terrain, as the ranger spoke up.

“This is where we are currently,” the ranger explained. “The camp is just under a mile to our southwest. We have a squad of rangers holed up here, to the south of the camp, waiting for us. Our scouts have found a concealed path that will lead the rest of you to this point just north of the encampment. We will leave one of our rangers here to guide you to this assault position. We have been watching the enemy and believe that the Alliance soldiers are being held in this tent that is currently surrounded by orcs and those two beholders.”

“Good report, ranger; Captain Decray, you will take your men around to the east and link up with the rest of your platoon,” Mkel stated.

“Yes, we’ll move around to the right, cross this make-shift road, where the enemy has been receiving reinforcements, and link up with my men. It will take us at least two hours, for we must remain undetected,” Decray explained.

“Understandable; we will wait here under Gallanth’s illusionary camouflage until you are close to your assault position. We will then move into our over-watch position and let you know when we are ready. Hopefully the attack by the legion will drive most of their forces out onto the plain. Once this happens, we will see what is left over and decide who is going to take who. Once all remaining enemy are killed, we will then move in, repatriate the prisoners, and head directly back here to the mounts. Captain Decray, I assume you will still fly the prisoners back to friendly ground?” Mkel formulated the plan and then asked the senior ranger a question.

“Yes; what if we run into heavier resistance than expected?” Decray asked.

“My team will hold off any powerful creatures encountered, while your rangers rescue the prisoners. If we get too heavily pressed, I will call Gallanth up, which anything short of three or more chromatics, I am not too worried about,” Mkel answered.

“I understand, Dragonrider,” Decray replied.

“Any questions?” Mkel asked as he looked around to all gathered.

“How far is our final position from the encampment?” Dekeen asked.

“About one hundred fifty to two hundred yards, Master Elf,” the ranger answered. “Sorry we couldn’t get you in closer.”

“That is perfect,” Dekeen answered. “That is an easy shot for me and Mkel, and out of their effective range.”

“Good, then best of luck, Captain Decray,” Mkel said in parting.

“May your swords serve you well, and a dragon’s luck to you all,” Gallanth said in his softest tone possible.

Decray and all his men nodded in thanks, for he definitely wanted to test his pair of short swords, with their added power bestowed by Gallanth.

“Rangers, follow me,” Decray spoke up and very stealthily led all but one of his men into the scrub hills.

“All right, my friends, let’s gather close to Gallanth and wait for our signal,” Mkel said as he loaded his crossbow with a magazine of ten master-crafted bolts and leaned back against Gallanth’s front leg. The rest of the Weir council group followed suit, with only Dekeen moving up to the crest of the hollow to take watch. Between Dekeen’s elvish eyes and ears, and Gallanth’s foresight, he was not worried about being surprised. Now it was just a matter of waiting.

Colonel Lordan and Lieutenant Padonan walked over to the legion’s gathering place, with Talonth and Strikenth right behind them. The legion’s soldiers had already been astonished when Gallanth teleported out with the Keystone Weir council group and the rangers. They now watched in amazement as the two large silver dragons approached. Strikenth and Talonth stopped just shy of the gathering legion and settled down on their bellies. The land dragons all looked over to the silvers and bowed their heads in a type of Draconic salute.

The Battle Point land dragons did not see metallics often. They usually only witnessed the Capital Wing dragons on special envoys, but even then they almost never operated directly with them. Until now there hadn’t been a need for much metallic dragon support, for the most powerful enemy the legion had to deal with were giants or a very rare errant young chromatic. This was usually a single white, green, or black, with the worst being a young blue dragon, which several land dragons from the assigned battalion working in teams could easily handle. Those that were alive during the Great War worked with the metallic dragons to a greater degree, but there were only two left that old still serving. Land dragons had basically the same life span as their human crews.

Lordan and Padonan walked into the bustling crowd of soldiers that were getting their weapons and gear ready for battle. The soldiers closest to the dragonriders quickly stood up and saluted them.

“Soldier, do you know where General Daddonan or Colonel Sheer are?” Lordan asked the nearest legionnaire while he returned the salute.

“Sir, I think they are over passed the land dragons and hippogriffs,” the soldier answered, sheepishly staring at Lordan’s mithril-headed dragonstone lance.

“Thanks, my boy, and good luck today,” Lordan replied as he walked past the group of soldiers toward the hippogriffs. There were thousands of Battle Point soldiers moving about, making last-minute checks of their armor, weapons, and mounts.
This legion is similar to mine
, Lordan thought to himself; the legion under his command at Eladran Weir was a pure cavalry-based force, with a combination of land dragons; heavy, medium, and light cavalry; hippogriffs; and a ranger company mounted on griffons similar to Keystone Weir. All this accompanied with a battalion of centaurs. The difference at Eladran was that he commanded the whole legion, as opposed to Mkel commanding just his Weir garrison, which was the equivalent of a large battalion and was reinforced by the Draden regiment.

The Battle Point legion also had heavy war wagons pulled by large, well-barded draft horses. These armored wagons brought the infantry forces to the battle, but they then dismount to fight. While they could fight from the turreted wagons if necessary, they usually formed the base around which the cavalry maneuvered and were supported by the power of the land dragons. “A different concept, but effective out here in the flat plains of the unsettled lands surrounding the city,” Lordan surmised. He sighted General Daddonan and his command group looking over the images of several seeing crystals and headed over to join them. Padonan walked with him, observing the detailed preparations taking place.