“Now,” Blackthorn addressed the two Ancients, now that they were alone, “what’s this about the Wyrm of Chaos? What can Dragonguard do?”

“I have probable cause that Anaq is planning on [SOMETHING],” Airigold began to explain.

Blackthorn interrupted him, “Hold on, “probable cause”? You mean you think he’s done something, or worse, likely to do something but hasn’t yet.”

“It’s more of the latter,” Airigold responded, slightly irritated for being questioned.

“Let me get this straight,” Blackthorn berated the Ancient, anger ringing through his voice, “so you think he will do something and have no proof of it? That’s just a suspicion, not probable cause. You’re going to sit here and waste my time about some petty shit between bitter rivals that have nothing to do with us anymore.”

Airigold quickly added in, speaking through his teeth, trying to keep calm, “Forgive my incorrect use of your language, but it’s not—”

“And another thing,” Blackthorn said, cutting off the Ancient again; Airigold’s nose wrinkled in frustration, “I don’t appreciate you landing on my base without the proper clearance to do so. You may be an Ancient, but unless if you have actual intel, you don’t get to just land here.”

Blackthorn started to walk away; Airigold quietly let out a low growl, “Valen, I know Vexx is your brother.”

The Commander stopped and paused, then slowly turned around. His anger was much more apparent on his face. “You better choose your next words very carefully,” he said, pointing sharply at the Ancient.

“This isn’t just about Anaq; Vexx is working with, or maybe a part of, the Dragonbane Order. Their very existence is a matter of concern for all of us. Both human and dragonkin,” Airigold responded with a firm tone.

“Now,” he continued as Blackthorn’s expression changed and his eyes darted back and forth in thought, “I don’t know if Anaq is working with the Order or if he’s doing his own thing. But I do know he’s up to something.”

“So then, what do you propose I relay to the headquarters?” Blackthorn inquired.

“That actually won’t be necessary,” Airigold started to explain, now calm and collected. “Nyrak, the drake who guards the Drakeridge Pass, will relay the information about Anaq to the Dragonguard. He’s probably already there by now. I’m here because of Vexx, but I did not want to; what do you humans say? “Spill the beans” about your relation to him with the others around.”

“Thank you for that,” Blackthorn thanked with deep sincerity.

“Anyhow, Vexx will undoubtedly continue to be a thorn in your side,” Airigold gave a slight chuckle as his own pun, “While your guardian did incredible work disposing of his formidable wyvern, that won’t stop him, and you know this.”

“So, what are you planning?” Blackthorn asked, still confused about what his role is in this.

“Sphyii and I remove him from the picture,” Airigold said quietly as if trying to keep a secret.

“The two of you?”

Airigold responded, “Well, probably Zolt too, or the Drake of the West as you know him.”

“The Drake of the—How many Ancients are still alive?” Blackthorn retorted.

“Several.”

“Ok, but wouldn’t this plan be a grave breach of the Draconian Concord?” Blackthorn insisted, glanced around to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

“Not if we did it stealthily, at night, and no one else knew,” Airigold said in a hushed voice.

“And why are you telling me this?”

Sphyii responded in a harsh, raspy voice, her injuries still visible on her throat from a battle long ago: “Because you will run surveillance and alert us if anything is out of the ordinary. You have short-wave radios in those earpieces, yes? Put one in our ears, and we’ll have direct contact with your teams.”

“I thought she couldn’t talk; that’s why she was named “The Voiceless”,” Blackthorn commented, politely pointing to the novascale.

“Common misconception,” Sphyii responded.

“She usually keeps quiet, as it’s not easy for her to talk,” Airigold added, his expression turning to a somber pain, “Thanks to Anaq, in the final battle that ended the Draconian War, her throat was almost entirely ripped out.”

“Alright, so, what day were you thinking of carrying out this plan?” Blackthorn asked.

“As soon as possible, really. Hell, tonight even, if you can.” Responded Airigold.

“And what makes you think I’d just kill my brother in cold blood like this? Despite his abhorrent atrocities.” Inquired Blackthorn, his brow furrowing slightly as he recalled the crimes Vexx had committed over the years.

“You don’t have to be a part of this. We just want your team’s help with the reconnaissance.”

“Yes, but I would have to sign off on that. And now you’ve just told me the plan. I can’t in good conscience use the Dragongaurd to aid in a murder.”

“He has murdered innocent humans! Hell, I’ve had to kill my own kind when they’ve acted like Vexx has! He just attacked the city moments before we landed!” Airigold’s voice rose in anger.

“We aren’t dragons; it’s different from your kind. Vexx may be a rabid animal, but the rest of us aren’t like that; I can’t just murder him.” Blackthorn retorted; Airigold pulled his head back and snorted in disgust, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Blackthorn continued, “If you want to get rid of him, that’s on you.”

“Come on, Sphyii,” Airigold said with a scowl. We rabid animals aren’t clearly welcomed here anymore.”

Both Ancients began to unfurl their wings and take off when Blackthorn stopped them.

“Wait!” he shouted just before they took flight. “I won’t kill him, but we can capture him. If you agree to bring him in — alive — then you can have my team for recon.”

The two Ancients looked at each other. Sphyii nodded slightly. Airigold thought for a moment and then responded, “Fine. We’ll bring him in alive. However, I will not hesitate to use self-defense if necessary.”

“Perfectly understandable,” Blackthorn replied. “But, how will you find him? When he attacked the edge of the city months ago, we couldn’t locate him anywhere.”

“I just spoke to Zolt, who saw him traveling through the Forgotten Forest Ridge. He had others with him, and I don’t think he could get too far through that forest. We’ll start there.” Airigold explained.

Blackthorn stroked his beard as he thought of a plan, “when the sun completely sets in a few hours, we execute the mission. I’d recommend flying over to the cliffsides either north or south of the city.” Blackthorn pointed to the cliffsides in the distance.

“Wouldn’t recommend having Ancients fly through the city at night with all the lights,” the Commander continued, “Unfortunately for Vexx if he took flight, we’d still see him from our tallest building, so he should still be within the forest. I’ll have a look out on the building until it's time for our mission.”

Airigold nodded in agreement, adding, “If he is with others, we’ll need to separate him somehow. Maybe when they stop to rest, we can snatch him like the rodent he is.”

“If you’re able to do that quietly, then sure. Bring him back; we’ll put him in the correctional facility here at the base.” Blackthorn paused to think of anything else to add.

Airigold broke the silence after a few moments, saying, “Sounds like a good enough plan.” He turned to Sphyii and said, “We should stay up there on the cliff in the trees for the time being; otherwise, we’ll be too much of a distraction at the base here.”

Sphyii nodded in agreement, and then they both spread their wings and took to the air, the orange sunset casting long shadows.