A/N: Shout outs to James Birdsong and my anonymous reviewer! Morrible is definitely up to no good. More on that later. Thanks!
Chapter 11
The morning came early and Fiyero was up and out of bed in a hurry. A quick shower and he was down near the stable in short order, with his saddle bag. His horse was being saddled when he arrived by the stable boy, Aziz.
"Good Morning Captain. I've gotten Phantom ready for you," he smiled. The horse whinnied and stamped the ground in front of him.
"We've got a long few days in front of us boy. Save your energy," Fiyero smiled as he patted the horse's neck. The black stallion stood at sixteen hands (or sixty-four inches) tall; had a long-arched neck and well-chiseled, short-eared, concave forehead, down to his slightly convex nose. His powerful, sloping shoulders and compact muscular body allowed him to have a brisk, high-stepping trot to match his short, strong legs. Fiyero often let his mane go untrimmed as it was long, thick, and wavy, which added to the horse's presence. He had been lucky to find such a wonderful horse; one that could be as gentle as a lamb but also willing to jump into anything headfirst.
"I have the other horses ready but I am not sure where the men are sir," Aziz said.
"Thank you. I'm sure Zetti is just dragging them out of bed," the Captain smirked.
"I heard that former Warden Refik is missing. Where will you start your search if he could not assist?" The stable hand wondered.
"You heard that?" Fiyero was surprised.
"People talk around me sir. Like I'm not even here," Aziz admitted.
"Well if you hear anything you think is relevant; let me know when I get back," the Vinkun said.
"I could get in trouble sir," the stable hand was unsure if he wanted to eavesdrop on purpose.
"Not asking you to spy. Just listen. You hear something, let me know. How's your mother doing?" Fiyero suddenly changed the topic.
"Not well sir. A doctor is expensive," Aziz told him. Fiyero reached into his pocket and when he pulled it out, there were five gold coins.
"Take her to a doctor. If that isn't enough, you tell the doctor that Captain Fiyero says to bill him," he said. He then went into the saddle bag, pulled out one piece of paper, his wax stamp, and a pen. Putting the paper on the wall, he scratched out a message, before folding it up. Heading to a nearby candle on the wall, he dropped a few drips onto the paper and stamped it.
"Hand him this if he doesn't believe you," Fiyero said, handing the letter over to the younger man, before putting his supplies back.
"Sir?" Aziz was surprised. He'd always been treated well by the Captain but this was incredibly generous for just a stable hand.
"You are a good man trying to do well for your family. You deserve to be rewarded. Now, I'm going to track the boys down. We need to be on the road before Morrible finds out that we're not," with that, he headed outside.
"Ah Lieutenant, there you are," Fiyero said as Zetti approached with the team of men he'd handpicked. Private Roth, Corporal Norris, Corporal Bock, and Sergeant Duncan rounded out the squad and the Vinkun approved.
"We were securing our Bird, Captain," Private Roth was carrying a regal looking falcon on his wrist. He had on a leather glove so the bird of prey's talons didn't bore into his arm.
"Ah very good. Mount up. We'll start at Southstairs and work our way out. Warden Hafiz has promised us some of his private stock of beer for the journey," Fiyero waggled his eyebrows.
"Better get a move on then," Zetti chuckled. They soon were all on their horses and heading for the gate. Above them, Morrible watched from her window. The Captain was on his way to find the Witch. She wasn't sure how he'd capture the Witch but at this point, it was only one piece of the plan. There was other work to be done.
To Be Continued…