As the sun crested the horizon and its last ray of light faded away, a small squadron of guardians landed at the southern cliff. As they stood amidst the dense underbrush of the sparse forest, they scanned the darkened surroundings. The beams from their flashlights cut through the shadows, illuminating the gnarled branches and exposed rock. They searched for the two Ancients momentarily when Airigold came out from behind a large boulder. A few of the guardians were startled by the sudden movement.
“Oh my god!” Ivis jumped backward, “How is an Ancient that stealthy?”
Airigold chuckled quietly and responded, “Well, you do call my species “shadescale”, don’t you?”
Sphyii slithered out from behind the same boulder and perched next to Airigold as Azier approached them both.
“Here,” she said, holding out her hand. “These are bone induction earpieces, it’s what we use for communication. I’ll put it in one of your ears.”
Both Ancients lowered their head for Azier to insert the earpieces. Airigold then said, “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you were on the surveillance team. You’re a dragonknight, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, but the Commander asked me to accompany you since I kind of already know you,” she responded. "I believe he doesn't fully trust you."
Airigold let out an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes in frustration. “Alright, fine,” he relented, his tone slightly softened. “But stay close.”
He walked to the edge of the cliff, its rugged edges slightly crumbling under his weight. The rest of the guardians gathered, their expressions a mix of anticipation and determination.
The two Ancients unfurled their expansive wings. With a few powerful, rhythmic beats, they ascended into the night sky. Meanwhile, the guardians and their dragonkin dove off the towering cliff. As they plummeted for a brief moment to allow space for the Ancients to climb into the air, they then extended their wings, catching the wind. One by one, each guardian then soared upwards, joining the Ancients in a breathtaking display of strength and unity.
The group eventually came across the small ridge in the forest, it’s peak barely poking through the trees.
Azier broke the radio silence, saying, “We’ll have to land on the ridge; it’s too dense otherwise. Airigold, Sören, [guardian], let’s go.”
The four of them landed, stirring up leaves and dust. They began to walk quickly along the path through the forest. Finally, they came across light flickering through the trees, and the smell of a campfire filled the air.
Sören quietly said over the radio, “We’ve potentially made contact; looks like there’s a campfire ahead.”
Another guardian came over their earpieces, “We see a faint light through the trees; I can smell it too. We’ll hold here and survey the airspace if they try to take off.”
“I’ll go and check for positive ID,” Sören said as he quietly crept forward. He peered from behind a tree, seeing Vexx and a few of his loyal companions sitting around a campfire; a few of their dragonkin slept nearby.
Sören whispered into his radio, “Yeah, it’s him. We’ll have to come in from the side; his back isn’t to me.” He returned to the group.
“There are some large rocks in the way, so I think it’s best if the humans grab him and drag him here. Then we restrain him and take off. Airigold can hold onto him or something when we fly back,” Sören suggested; the other guardians agreed.
Azier, Sören, and another guardian snuck over to the rock and each of them hid behind a tree. Vexx was alone sitting at the fire; one of his men was asleep, while another took a piss on a tree. Azier whispered, “I’ll cover his mouth and drag him off the log, then you guys get his legs. Nice and quick.”
The other two guardians confirmed and slowly crept out from behind the trees, closely following Azier. She stepped on a stick, just mere feet away from behind Vexx, and made a loud crack. Luckily, the campfire popped simultaneously and threw out a small burning ember. Vexx bent over and flicked it back into the fire.
When he sat back up, Azier quickly covered his mouth and pulled him backward with such force she almost lost her balance. His legs went into the air, and the other two guardians swooped in and grabbed them before he even knew what was happening.
They quickly but quietly returned to their dragons and began tying him up. He kept trying to push away and break free. Azier shoved a cloth into his mouth so she could help restrain him. Vailstrym then held him on the ground with her foot as the guardians tried to tie his hands behind his back.
After some time, they finally managed to gain control over Vexx. Just before they were about to take off, they heard a twig snap nearby.
“We need to go. Now.” Airigold said as quietly as he could.
Suddenly, the group was attacked by Vexx’s men and their dragons. Sören yelled out over his radio, “Contact! Contact! We’re being attacked!”
Vexx managed to break free, and as he bolted away, Airigold clawed at him, cutting a deep gash in his face. Vexx’s henchmen slashed his knife at Airigold, cutting his hand. With his powerful arm, Airigold threw him to the side and tried to chase after Vexx. The other mercenary stepped before Airigold and aimed a pistol into his face.
Airigold quickly swiped it away and said in a low voice, his anger smoldering like the coals of a fire, “You think your weapons hurt me? They only piss me off more.”
The man stood there frozen in place, trembling as he realized he was staring at the face of an Ancient dragon, the warm glow of the withering campfire highlighting his golden features.
As Vexx returned to the campfire, he found a crevasse in the large rocks to hide in. He cut the rope with a sharp rock he found inside, then the cloth out of his mouth and applied pressure to his wound with it.
“These fuckers think they can grab me in the middle of the night? Valen will pay for this,” Vexx said to himself, slouching against the wall of the rock shelter.
All within a few seconds, Vexx escaped, and his henchmen were captured. The rest of the guardians dove through the trees and landed with a loud thud that shook the earth.
“Too late, guys. Vexx is gone, but we got his rabid dogs,” Azier said, angrily gesturing to the captured mercenaries.
“Damn. We tried to get here fast; must have been too high,” responded Sphyii.
One of the mercenaries’ faces lit up upon seeing Sphyii and said, “The Novascale? I’ve heard pirate stories about you!” The other lightly kicked him to signal him to be quiet.
“Did anyone see where Vexx went?” Asked Azier, addressing the squadron. They looked at each other and shook their heads.
“Nah, one of their dragons was attacking Ari, so I was dealing with that.” Responded Sören.
“I almost had him before these two wyrms got in my way,” Airigold said, his brow furrowing when he looked over at Vexx’s men kneeling on the ground, “I think I managed to cut him, so he’s probably injured and bleeding.”
“This slippery fuck, he’s like an eel,” Azier said irately in frustration. “It’s too dark in this forest at night, so he’s probably long gone.”
“Wait,” interjected Shpyii, “You said you cut him? Is there blood on your claw?” Airigold held up his claw, the faintest amount of red covering the golden color. Sphyii sniffed the blood and said, “I’ll see if I can get his scent. Shine your flashlights just ahead of me.”
Shpyii sniffed the ground around Vexx’s campsite; a guardian followed her around with a flashlight to illuminate the area. After making a few passes, Shpyii returned to the group.
“Nah, it all smells like him here. I can’t pick anything up around this area,” she remarked in defeat.
“Yeah,” the guardian added, ”I didn’t see any blood on the ground either, so he must not have been bleeding that badly.”
“Son of a bitch,” Azier exclaimed, “Well, we can take these two back to Rayhaven and question them. Kick some dirt onto those coals; don’t want to burn down the forest. Although, at this point, that’d help us.”
“What do we do about their dragons?” One of the guardians inquired, kicking dirt onto the smoldering coals.
“I don’t know; take the saddles off and set them free, I guess,” Azier said, walking over to Vailstrym, who had one of their dragons pinned to the ground.
The dragon snarled as Azier walked to the side. She gently stroked its neck to convey she wasn’t a threat. She unlatched the saddle buckles, pulled off all the equipment, and threw it to the side.
Azier backed away and commanded Vailstrym to let go. The dragon pulled away and barred its teeth at the group, growling in a low, deep rumble. The guardians raised their weapons in anticipation when one of the mercenaries looked back and slightly shook his head. The dragon picked up on this cue and stopped. It stood there for a moment until it turned around and ran off into the dark forest. They did the same with the other dragonkin and then went on their way back to Rayhaven.
Upon reaching the base, they called for the Commander over the radio to meet them in the courtyard. Airigold released the two mercenaries from his grip, placing them on the cold, hard concrete before landing himself.
Blackthorn and a few guardians who followed him walked towards the team. Blackthorn noticed who they brought back, his arms out wide, and said, “Where the hell is Vexx? Who the fuck are these two?”
“These two,” Azier began, “are Vexx’s men, who were with him when they left after attacking the city.”
“How does that bastard keep slipping out of our hands?” Retorted Blackthorn, rubbing his forehead in frustration.
“I ask the same thing, sir,” Azier stated.
Sören started to explain, “These guys somehow knew we got Vexx and attacked us—”
“You had him?” Blackthorn interrupted with exasperation in his voice.
“Yeah, it went perfectly. Not even a sound. But somehow, these assholes knew and attacked us. He slipped away when that happened.”
“Is everyone alright; any injuries?” Blackthorn quickly examined the group, and the guardians shook their heads.
“Maybe some bruises, but other than that, I think we’re fine.” Responded Sören as the Commander halted when he got to Airigold.
“Your claw; you’ve been cut,” Blackthorn mentioned, pointing to his bleeding foot.
“I’m fine. This one got me with his dagger. The other claw has Vexx’s blood on it. When he ran, I tried to grab him but only ended up gashing his face. The other pile of garbage here stepped in front of me and put a pistol in my face. By then, Vexx had disappeared into the darkness somewhere.”
“Great. Well, at least we have these two to question. Take them to the cells.” Blackthorn commanded the guardians who accompanied him. They grabbed the mercenaries and dragged them away.
“Well,” Blackthorn continued, “I sent word to the headquarters about Vexx’s attack on the city and his affiliations. They’ve just decided to declare him as “an enemy of mankind”; anyone can now bring him to any dragonguard personnel, dead or alive.”
He sighed in defeat and said, “Well, I guess we’ve got a couple of his men, so we can start questioning them. Get some rest; you’ve done well.”
They all started to disperse when Blackthorn stopped and turned around briefly, addressing Airigold, saying, “Hey, get that gash in your foot bandaged.”
Airigold let out a soft snort through his nose as he waved away Blackthorn’s worries. The two Ancients then took to the midnight sky and flew north, off into the dimly light moonlight horizon. The rest of the guardians and their dragonkin took off their equipment and went to sleep.
