Albanion, Elza and Aegis flew northeast with great haste.
Not a word was spoken the entire time, nor did they stop for rest. For three days they had travelled to evade anyone following from Glenhaven. As the sun began to rise on the fourth morning, the trio came to a stop by a river and a patch of grass.
Aegis stretched out his back, while Albanion and Elza sat upon overturned stumps.
"Curse this foul desert weather." Elza sighed, shaking the sand out of her mane. "It's too hot and itchy out here! How can anyone stand it?!"
"Some are just used to it." Aegis said. "Why else would townships be built out in the desert?"
"Because they're crazy." Elza muttered under her breath, only to catch sand in her muzzle. She reeled back with harsh coughs.
"Careful there." Aegis chuckled.
Albanion held a forepaw before himself, creating a black orb of energy. He enshrouded himself in the darkness, and soon emerged in the form of a lime-green dragon with blue eyes. Once Elza had cleaned out her muzzle, she too created a shroud of darkness, and became an orange dragoness with hazel eyes. Aegis took a sip of water before performing the magic and becoming a lightning dragon.
Elza stretched out her neck and looked herself over in her reflection. "I can't wait to be out of this place."
Albanion looked over his robes. He tapped the front of his chest with a talon and shut his eyes to concentrate. The place where he tapped changed from grey to a bright brown. The new color spread quickly over the robes. The covering on his tail faded away like mist, and the cloth solidified just over the tail-base. The sleeves became shorter, wider and lighter in weight.
Albanion nodded in satisfaction and looked over his companions. They had followed suit, using their dark magic to change their robes in the same manner. Aegis tucked his single wing beneath his robes.
"Our supplies are dwindling." Aegis said. "We'll need to make for a border town to replenish them."
"Agreed." Elza said with a nod.
"And perhaps the prince is hiding there." Albanion stepped away from the river. "It wouldn't hurt to search. But we mustn't stay still for too long, even with our new facades."
"I'll have to travel on foot." Aegis said, taking a deep breath. "I've exhausted quite a bit of magic keeping myself aloft for so long."
"I understand." Albanion turned around. "We'll take some time to relax, and then continue on foot."
After a light rest, the trio continued their trek for the rest of the morning. It seemed like an eternity to Elza, who could feel the harsh sun beating down on her neck. She cursed herself for enduring this climate. She never wanted to set foot on the southern continent again. Not after what became of her homeland. But she had to find her dear nephew before the Order did. Elza hadn't gone a moment without thinking of Rune, either. She was heartbroken that Rune didn't come with them, and it pained her to leave him behind. Whenever her mission was complete, Elza would go back to Glenhaven and find Rune. She would reunite Elenar's sons if it was the last thing she did!
While Elza was lost in her thoughts, she noticed something in the distance. She squinted, trying to make it out.
A group of a dozen or so white tents were set up in neat rows and columns near a large oasis and an adjacent river. Several cheetahs and dragons were hard at work dismantling the tents into neat piles. Some cheetahs were chopping piles of wood, while others organized supplies around the tents. A few fire dragons were starting up campfires a little further out near the river. A train of camels were drinking from the water.
"What is it?" Aegis asked curiously.
"It looks like a camp of some sort." Elza said, flapping her wings.
"Excellent." Albanion grinned.
The dragons slowly approached the nomad camp. A few of the cheetahs gathering wood spotted the trio and watched them arrive. When Albanion and his companions were close enough, several nomads in brown cloth approached them.
"Who are ye?" One of the nomads demanded.
"We're just some travelers, passing through." Albanion bowed his head. "Sorry to disturb you. We're a group of humble magicians, making our way north."
"What brings a group of magicians out here in the desert on foot?" A red dragon huffed, staring at them suspiciously. "Wouldn't travel by carriage be safer and easier?"
"We haven't made enough life gems to afford transportation." Aegis answered.
"Understandable." A cheetah said. He hefted his axe over his shoulder. "Those city folk gouge for more life gems than is fair to expect."
"My we stop here to purchase some water?" Albanion asked.
"What do you have to trade in return?" The red dragon asked, looking the trio up and down. Albanion reached into his satchel and produces a bag of coins.
"These aren't life gems, but I'm sure we can do business."
"What is gold worth in the desert?" The red dragon asked with a chuckle. "Before you offer us coin, let's see what goods you have to trade first."
"I have strips of leather." Aegis said, reaching for his satchel. "As well as a few precious stones."
"Let's see these stones."
Aegis opened his satchel and presented his stones to the drake. He looked through them quickly, and snorted. There weren't enough to be of an interested.
"Fine, let's talk of your coin, then." The red drake said with a huff.
"How much for three water-skins full?" Albanion asked.
"Hmm..." The drake glanced at the trio, sizing them up. He then looked down at their water-skins. "Eight silver pieces. Dragons your size need a lot of water."
Albanion pulled eight silver coins form his pouch and gave them to the nomad. "There you go, sir."
The drake accepted the coins, and then led the dragons over to where they kept their barrels of stored water.
As they were following the nomad, Elza spotted something out of the corner of her eye. Off on the outskirts of the encampment were two small dragon cubs, each roughly eight years old. The boy had bright yellow scales, while the girl had sky blue scales. They seemed to be standing over a few plants in the sand, giggling to themselves.
"Albanion..." Elza whispered into the green drake's ear frill. He stopped to look at her. Elza directed his gaze towards the children, and he frowned.
"Go and get your water." Albanion said to her. The dragoness nodded and pulled out her water-skin. Elza continued to stare at the younglings, something tugging at the back of her mind.
His curiosity piqued, Albanion took careful steps closer to the cubs. The boy was waving his forepaw over the plant, his tongue lolling out in what looked like concentration. While Albanion wasn't looking, the large red drake moved to intercept him.
"AHEM." He said.
Albanion blinked and looked up at him. "Are those your children?"
The nomadic dragon nodded back at the little girl. "The girl's my daughter. But just what do you think you're doing? The water is over that way!"
Albanion leaned over to watch. As the yellow cub concentrated, the tiny plant started twitching. The boy's forepaw shook as the plant grew a few inches higher, much to the girl's delight.
The red drake noticed Albanion's gaze shifting and moved to block the view once more. "Come on, or do you not want any of your water?"
Albanion sidestepped the nomadic drake to watch more. The yellow cub made the plant grow a bit higher.
"My my, what a trick." Albanion nodded.
"Yes, it is." The red dragon hissed. "You magicians could learn a thing or two." The nomad forcibly nudged Albanion away from the scene and looked him in the eyes. "Now can we move on?"
"His technique needs some work, though." Albanion said.
"What?" The nomad blinked in confusion.
Albanion waved a forepaw towards the plant. Within moments, it sprouted upwards with rapid speed, transforming into a fully-grown cactus. The two children leapt back in amazement.
The red drake turned around and rubbed his eyes, as if unsure if what he saw was real. "What the...?"
Albanion stepped up and whispered into the nomad's ear frill. "Your outward appearance is merely a shroud, isn't it?"
"A... A shroud..." The nomad's eyes narrowed. He lowered his own voice to a whisper. "Are you saying...?"
"Daddy, come look at what Rallo did!" The girl cup called, waving at the red drake.
"I see, Lillia." The nomad smiled and nodded, but didn't move from his spot. He turned back to Albanion. "Are you...?"
"My name is Albanion. My two companions are Elza, and Aegis."
"Greetings, Albanion." The nomad bowed his head. "I'm known as Harlon, and this is our tribe."
"How many of you are there?" Albanion asked.
"Three dozen or so, not counting the cubs." Harlon proceeded to walk forwards.. "It's been too long since I last met a dark dragon from outside of our camp."
Albanion followed after him. "You've integrated yourselves very well."
"Thank you." Harlon bowed again. "Tell me, do you have any news of our fellows? We haven't have much contact ever since we lost Warfang. The desert is nearly void of life, as you may well have noticed."
"Things are... complicated." Albanion's face became grave. "There's been a murder of the king of Ignys."
Harlon frowned. "Truly? These must be difficult times."
"It's worse than you know. Horus's murder was only the beginning."
"What do you mean? How could it get any worse than that?"
Albanion didn't answer. His talons dug into the sand, and his eyes darted from left to right. He took a deep breath and looked Harlon in the eyes. "Pray that Lady Cynder can shelter you from the whole truth."
Harlon's expression deepened. "What's going on out there? Should we turn back and cancel our journey?"
"That all depends." Albanion looked into Harlon's eyes. "Where are you headed?"
"At the moment we're heading for the port town of Ganulha." Harlon said, motioning towards the north with a forepaw. "We'll be taking one of the ships to the northern continent. The town of Navord, to be exact."
"Is it alright if my companions and I accompany you?" Albanion asked. "We're searching for someone, and have had little luck in finding him for quite some time."
Harlon thought about it for a moment. "If you don't' mind doing some of the work around here, and paying your share to get on the ship, then we can make room for you."
"As you wish." Albanion nodded yes.
"Dadiiiiiiie!" The girl cub cried. She came running up to Harlon, her forepaw limping. "I pricked my paw on the cactus!"
Harlon sighed. "Don't worry, dear. Let's go get a bandage for that." He looked up at Albanion. "And while we're at it, you can say hello to the newest addition to the tribe."
The cub looked up at Albanion, wiping tears from her eyes with her other forepaw. "H... Hello?"
Albanion chuckled. "Hello there, little one."
Harlon walked around them to lead the way back to camp. "Everyone! It looks like we have a few new members to our little group! Say hello to Albanion and his friends!"
Some of the crowd stopped what they were doing and looked over at Harlon and Albanion. Some of them chattered quietly.
"I take it you're the leader." Albanion said.
"One of them." Harlon said. "That cheetah over there is the other one. I hold sway over the dragons, and he commands the cheetahs."
"I'll respect your commands, but Elza and Aegis report directly to me."
"I understand. Just so long as you three respect the rules around here, and the other nomads, then there will be no problem." Harlon pulled his cub up by her scruff and carried her into the tribe.
"Of course." Albanion said behind him.
As Harlon attended to his daughter's paw, Albanion walked off to find Elza and Aegis. His thoughts temporarily drifted back to the fate of King Horus.
Troubling times are head.
~~...~~
The next two days were spent travelling across the desert. Albanion and his companions walked alongside Harlon. They walked amongst a train of camels as they traveled to the north. Elza moaned as the heat continued to assail her, her tongue lolling out as she panted. Harlon reached over and shut her muzzle for her, causing her ton yelp as she nipped her tongue.
"Easy there." Aegis warned. "Elza's tongue is a rarity."
Elza smirked. "Some tell me it's made of silver." She winked over at Albanion. He ignored the gesture and instead focused on Harlon.
"Tell me, Harlon." He said, stepping closer. "How long has your tribe been travelling?"
"Quite a long time." Harlon murmured. "Almost as long as I can remember. Though, I know it all started back during the war. My family decided against living in any of the major cities. We knew it wasn't safe in Faeshrine anymore. So, my father decided to have us intermingle with Azrual's family, who were making an exodus from Avalar."
"Why wouldn't your family stay with the Dark Dragon Monarchy?" Elza asked. "I mean, in hindsight it was for the best, I suppose. But why didn't they go then, when it was supposed to be a safe haven?"
"I guess my father didn't like the idea of living so high up above ground. He always told me to keep my feet planted on the ground."
"I guess I can understand that." Elza replied with a shrug. Aegis grunted and rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
"For a time, it was just our two families. But as the days turned to months, we met several other refugees looking for homes after the war. our numbers grew from there as the years went by. I took my father's place as the leader when he passed away."
Elza nodded, glancing around at the other nomads. She stepped over to Albanion, wanting to be near him. The dragons all walked in mostly silence for a while, until they came upon the town of Ganulha.
Ganulha was seated just to the east of a large rock formation and overlooked the central ocean. A large river cut through the middle of town and led straight into the ocean, effectively dividing the town in half. A tall lighthouse stood high upon the edge of the rock formation, illuminating the cloudy sky. The side closest to the sea was dank and miserable, while the side furthers from the ocean appeared much cleaner. The houses were wonderfully painted, and the streets were kept clean with solid construction.
"This doesn't seen like the right place for a fleet of ships." Elza said as she examined the town.
On the eastern side of the town, a segment of a pathway into Ganulha was paved over, and railroad tracks were built onto it. canines and earth dragons were hard at work paving over more land, while other workers hammered nails into new segments of tracks. The sound of clinking could be heard all the way across to the nomads.
"Ganulha looks rather industrious for such a small town." Aegis said curiously.
"I've heard that the FTC is funding the work, using old designs found in Mt. Boyzitbig." Harlon said. "They hope to expand the railroads across the lands in the coming decade."
"Indeed..." Albanion snorted.
The tribe made their way into the main gate of town. As they entered the city, Aegis stepped up to Harlon. "What ship will we be boarding?"
"We're going to speak with sailors of the Red Queen, the flagship of Commander Saul's fleet." Harlon straightened his robes.
Albanion's eyes went wide. "Commander Saul?"
"Aye. We sent him a message to him requesting passage about a week ago. He presumably has been waiting for us to arrive while his fleet was docked in the Ganulha's port."
Aegis and Elza glanced at each other anxiously. But they said nothing as the group kept walking.
A large shipward stretched across the ocean's edge at the northwestern side of the town. A few warehouses lined the opposite side of the wharves. Various naval ships were lined up in the docks. A few slipways had small boats being loaded into the water, while larger war vessels were being prepared further down the line. A great number of dragons and wolves made their way up and down the docks, most of them sailors preparing the fleet to disembark.
Elza shuffled over to Albanion and whispered carefully into his ear frill. "Should we be worried, Albanion?" She glanced around the docks, trying to find the Red Queen.
"No." He answered with a nod. "But we will be cautious."
Azruel the cheetah, and a few of his fellow cats, broke off from the group. Azruel himself approached Harlon and motioned towards the large sack slung over his back. "We're going to barter for more food and water for the journey."
Harlon nodded. "Meet us at the Red Queen when you're done. Don't take too long, though. We leave at high tide in a few hours."
Azruel nodded and left with his group. Harlon and the rest of the tribe made for the end of the docks.
The Red Queen was berthed on the westernmost edge of the docks. It was the biggest airship build in recent history, dwarfing eve the largest buildings in Ganulha. True to its name, the vessel sported a vibrant red finish. The ship's eight sails were dyed a rich crimson, and the largest sail was embroidered with an inverted circle bisected by a yellow line; the symbol of the Earth Clan. Two dozen cannons lined each side of the ship. A plank led from the side down to the loading dock.
Harlon waved his forepaw, stopping the tribe to wait by the wharf. The chief turned and approached a pair of earth dragons blocking the gang plank.
"Halt." They ordered. "Who goes there?"
"I am Harlon, dragon chief of the Fire-Claw nomads." Harlon bowed his head and saluted. "We arranged passage with Commander Saul."
The guards exchanged glances. "We'll need to make sure you're legit, mate."
One of the two turned to walk onto the ship. Harlon waited, tapping a claw on the wharf. Albanion and Elza waited a shirt distance behind him, and Aegis looked around at the sights of the port town. His nostrils wrinkled at the smell of fish and salt.
Harlon huffed impatiently. The remaining guard said nothing.
"I fear we'll be here for a while." Albanion snorted.
~~...~~
The captain's quarters were incredibly spacious. The floors and walls were made of fine polished wood. A massive, brown desk sat in the center, backed by a wall of thick viewing glass overlooking the docks. Seated at the desk was Commander Saul.
Saul was an earth dragon in his late thirties. His build was large and thick, as were the two emerald-green horns on the sides of his head. A rugged brown bear grew from his chin, and he had a thick mane that hid the bases of his horns. A glowing glyph in the shape of an Inverted Circle shined on the back of his neck. A cape covered his back, decorated with the same symbol.
Saul looked over the papers scattered haphazardly across his desk. He sneered as he reread the ropt on the murder of King Horus.
"Inexcusable." He snarled. Saul was distracted by a knock on the door. "Who goes there?"
"Sir, we have a group of nomads claiming to have an appointment with you." A guard said from behind the door.
"Hmm?" Saul thought for a moment, and then realization dawned. "Ah, the nomad tribe who sent us the message. Find lieutenant Goast and have him handle it."
"Aye aye, sir." The guard replied. Once the guard left, Saul resumed his analysis of his papers.
Saul snarled, his talons tearing at the wood of his desk. He whispered to himself in anger. "I know you killed him. You can't hide forever."
Sauil got up from his desk, gathered his papers into a folder, and left his quarters. After locking the door, he turned and inspected the deck. Water dragons were tending to the floor, while cheetahs and wolves prepared the sails and masts. Saul walked up a nearby staircase towards the stern of the ship. There, behind the sailing wheel and surrounded by guards, were Olivia and Jonathan.
Olivia was Saul's wife. She was wide and curvaceous for an earth dragoness. Four slender horns bent out upon her head. Her cherry-red mane and purple eyes gave her a youthful expression despite her age. She wore all sorts of jewelry on her horns and ankles, and a red scars was draped around her neck.
Saul's son Jonathan was a little over fourteen years old. He had his father's mane and his mother's eyes. Four silver horns grew from the sides of his head, all bending downwards towards his neck. He wore a white cape over his back which bore the family symbol. Various pieces of silver jewelry decorated his horns, like his mother.
Olivia was busy fussing with the string on Jonathan's cape. The young dragon kept shaking his legs back and forth, a frustrated expression on his muzzle.
"Can you please hold still?" She demanded, nearly pricking the young dragon with a talon. "I'm trying to get this on just right, and your fidgeting isn't helping."
"Hurry up, Mom!" Jonathan complained.
"I'm nearly done. You just need to be patient." Olivia finished tying the strings into a neat bow and stood upright. "There."
Jonathan scratched behind his ear frill. "Why do I have to wear this thing on a boat?"
"You're the son of the commander." Olivia huffed. "You need to look your best." She gave Jonathan a critical eye. "And you 'accidentally' left all of the nice clothes we bought you back home."
"Uh..." Jonathan stammered, his eyes darting away. "I'm sorry?"
Olivia snorted. "I'm sure you are. Now go run off and find something useful to do. Or at least stay out of trouble."
"Okay!" Jonathan turned to run off, only to be flanked by Saul. He looked up with a smile. "Oh, hi Dad."
Saul smiled. "Hey, Johnny." He leaned down to give his son an affectionate nuzzle on the forehead. "Giving your mother a hard time again?"
"Pfft. Yeah." Jonathan rolled his eyes. "She made me sit for half an hour while she was adjusting my cape. A whole half hour!"
Saul chuckled. "Well, that's one more half hour of your tutoring lessons, then."
"Aw, come on, Dad!" Jonathan complained. "We're still doing that? Even on this voyage?"
"You said you wanted to come with us on our trip to Warfang this year." Saul said, waving a talon in the air. "I told you that you'd have to make up for schoolwork you missed, via tutoring."
Jonathan grumbled under his breath and kicked a loose coil of rope. Saul merely chuckled.
"Now now, don't be like that. Just head downstairs to your quarters; the tutor will be with you shortly, Johnny."
Jonathan stamped down the stairs, still muttering to himself about the 'injustice of it all'. Saul watched him go, just glad his son had his health. Saul then walked across the stern to look out at sea. Olivia joined him by his side with a low purr.
Some time later, the nomads approached the docks. Saul watched them as Goast, another earth dragon, spoke to the nomads' chief. Goast seemed to be directing half of them towards a nearby boat. The chief was helping him direct the nomads onto the ships, figuring out which groups were the best ones to work together. The older males of the tribe made their way onto the Red Queen.
"Commander!" Someone shouted to catch Saul's attention.
"What is it?" Saul grunted as he faced the speaker.
"Sir! The seas have quieted, but I can still see black cloud banks on the horizon!"
"Very well. Prepare to set sail, men!" Saul called out.
The last of the nomads rushed to the ships with their new supplies, and quickly arranged themselves so that they were on their properly assigned ships. Once everyone was on board, the crew got to work. Saul stood behind the wheel as the lines were cast off.
An hour later, the Red Queen was at sea. It was followed by the rest of Saul's fleet shortly afterwards. The seven ships began their voyage across the ocean.
~~...~~
About a day had passed. The coastline had long since vanished from view. The Red Queen and its fleet were sailing to the north. During the voyage, a stream of storm clouds began floating in from the southeast. At first, they merely crept along the horizon, but by noon they had stretched across the sky. Waves started tossing the fleet, though the water dragons did their best to keep the waves under control.
Saul and one of his lieutenants stood at the bow, looking out at sea. High above, the twin moons were just barely visible behind the curtain of grey.
"The weather has been particularly disturbing of late." Saul said, eyeing the waves off in the distance. "Those blasted moons..."
"The waves have done a number on all the sailing routes." The lieutenant said.
"We must continue onward." Saul stamped his paw. "We've never turned back before. The waves are not our masters!"
Meanwhile, Albanion, Elza and Aegis stood on the portside deck of the ship. Elza gazed over the railing, staring at the grey horizon. Her stomach rumbled, and she gave a grimace.
"I have a bad feeling..." She murmured to her companions.
"You mean about Commander Saul?" Aegis whispered.
"No, this whole voyage." Elza glanced over her shoulder at the bank of clouds. "And that isn't helping."
"We could just split off once we reach shore." Aegis said. "We don't have to go along with the nomads while we search for the prince."
"It's the getting to shore that's worrying me." Elza huffed, turning away from the rail. "Something's itching at my gut, but I don't know what. Something's telling me that there's trouble brewing on this ship."
Elza took a deep breath and turned towards Albanion. He had been staring out at the ocean in deep, silent thought for the entire time. Elza stepped up next to him, their flanks nearly touching.
"A nice view, isn't it?" She asked.
"I suppose." Albanion muttered. He looked down at her, and she looked back with concern.
"What's on your mind, Albanion?"
"Saul." He answered. "The sailors have spread quite an interesting rumor about him in regards to the late king Horus."
"Oh?" Elza tilted her head.
"Take a listen." Albanion motioned with a wing. Off on the other side of the deck, a few sailors were talking amongst themselves while mopping the floor.
"...They say the Commander left Aeroshard almost the same day he heard the news." A water dragon said to a wolf.
"I heard he knows who did it." The wolf replied. "That's why he took an entire war fleet. So he could bring the assassin to justice."
"Who do you think did it?" The dragon asked.
"I don't know, but whoever did must have been completely insane." The wolf through his arms out. "Who in their right mind would murder a king? That's basically a declaration of war!"
"Well, why do you think he's going after the killers?" The dragon nodded. "Aeroshard and Ignys are allies, after all."
"I know, I know..." The wolf waved him off. "But I'm not really looking forward to another war..."
At that moment, Saul himself walked right past the sailors. They jumped in shock and hastily saluted their commander.
"S-Sir!" They declared nervously. The commander cocked an eye ridge in annoyance.
"Get back to work." He ordered.
The sailors hastened their mopping as Saul walked through a hatch to the lower deck. Albanion watched the commander descend, a paw running along his chin.
"We need to see just how much Saul knows." Albanion whispered, turning back towards the sea. "It could prove problematic if these rumors are true."
Elza sighed. "All right, I'll look into it tonight."
"No." Albanion shook his head. "We must find out immediately."
"Understood. But how are we going to follow him without being seen?"
Albanion turned back around towards Aegis. "Aegis, follow me."
Aegis nodded, and the two drakes walked towards the trapdoor. Albanion looked back at Elza. "You stay back here to keep watch."
Elza nodded and sat on her haunches. Albanion walked by the mopping sailors and walked down the staircase beneath the trapdoor. Aegis followed behind, glancing back at Elza as he disappeared below deck.
The pair saw Saul up ahead. The hallway was narrow, with a dark wooden floor pattern. The walls were illuminated by lanterns hung from the ceiling. A dozen or so doors split off towards other sections of the ship. Several sailors, most of them wolves, were on patrol in the hallway. They stopped and saluted Saul as he walked past.
As Saul kept walking ahead, Albanion and Aegis stopped.
"We need a distraction." Albanion whispered.
"Leave it to me." Aegis turned away form the sailors and lifted a forepaw in the air. With his eyes focused on the far end of the hall, Aegis created an aura of energy around his talons. The sailor furthest from them suddenly slammed into the right wall. Another sailor fell backwards, as if he were shoved over. A few of the other sailors snarled in anger. Their eyes focused first on the empty air of the hall, then focused on Albanion and Aegis.
"HALT!" One of them roared before charging towards them.
Albanion jerked back in alarm. The sailors all rushed towards the two drakes... and then ran right past them.
"Stop, you!" One shouted.
"Stowaway!" Another hissed.
Albanion watched as the sailors chased after their "invisible" foe. He looked up at Aegis. "What did you do?"
"I created an illusion for them to hound after." Aegis smirked. "It should buy us some time."
The two dragons continued down the hallway. They stopped before a large door that Saul had gone through moments before. Aegis leaned an ear frill against the door, and Albanion peered through the keyhole.
Saul was standing in the middle of the room, facing a wall outside Albanion's view. The commander was holding a gold-colored lantern emitting bright light. He swung the lantern from side to side, chanting to himself.
"Loqui ad mea Dominus."
Aegis looked to Albanion, wondering if he understood what was being said.
"It's ancient draconic." Albanion whispered. "It means 'Speak to my master'."
Aegis frowned, but nodded. He kept listening at the door.
After a moment, Saul put down the lantern. A golden mist appeared before Saul, partially beyond Albanion's vision. The mist grew bigger and wider, until an aged voice spoke from it.
"Saul?"
The commander bowed his head down. "Greetings, Pappas Richteriel."
"This had better be important." Richteriel demanded. "I was in the middle of a charity session."
"I bear new in regards to the investigations." Saul said.
"Oh you do, eh?" Richteriel questioned.
Aegis's frown burrowed.
"It's my belief that the killer's base of operations is somewhere on the northern continent." Saul declared.
"That's a nonsensical notion." The aged voice snapped. "We control every inch of land across the northern region. There's nowhere for the black beast and his ilk to hide."
"Ah, but what of the northeast?" Saul asked. "The mushroom forest is a massive expanse. Any creatures could be hiding there."
"The mushroom forest is one of the most deadly expanses in the dragon realms." Richteriel said. "It's home to a number of wicked savages and ferocious monstrosities. What demented fool would make his home there?"
"You never know, my Pappas." Saul said. "But in any case, it's little more than an educated guess. The black king's hideout my be there, but I need time to pinpoint the location. I'll perform an investigation once my men arrive in Warfang."
"are you absolutely sure you can locate the murderer?" The elder drake asked.
"With time, I'll find the bastard and avenge Horus's murder." Saul said with confidence. "You can be sure of that."
"You had best be right, Saul." Richteriel scoffed. "It's only a matter of time before he strikes again."
Albanion sneered. He backed up from the door and turned to walk away.
"This isn't good." He whispered. "If he knows that His Highness killed Horus, we'll need to throw him off the scent."
"What do you have in mind?" Aegis whispered back as he followed him.
"Nothing yet, but I will soon."
Aegis nodded in understanding. "We should go, before we're caught."
"Aye." Albanion turned to walk back towards the stairs. He looked back only once at Saul's doorway.
~~...~~
Greetings, friends and loved ones.
I've been working hard on how to structure each of the remaining chapters of Act One.. I hope to keep things interesting before the first act ends on something increidbly dramatic. Next week, we return to Rune and his four friends as they travel across the Concurrent Skies to the city of Crossgale. See you next week!
Tenebra ecce Veritas