Although Calder didn't share his thoughts on the subject, he felt uncomfortable wearing the uniform of the Cult of the Dragon. It wasn't because of the material of the clothes he now wore but that it belonged to his enemy. The ranger had to remind himself mentally that the clothes didn't make him anything like the other cultists. The disguise was necessary as part of Arzenya's plan to gather information and rescue Leosin. He had to remind himself that he wore the clothes for a good cause unlike his enemy.
Calder woke up early in the morning along with the others meant to infiltrate the cultist's camp. Arzenya instructed him along with Skylar and Zavier in basic phrases and symbols of the Cult of the Dragon but was quite insistent on doing all of the talking herself. Since his bow would draw too much attention, Calder had to leave it behind and rely on using his shortswords instead. Although he was optimistic that they wouldn't have to fight, especially because he didn't think they could win against all of the cultists at the same time.
Arzenya led the way towards the camp with the others following behind her. As they neared the hollowed out portion of the plateau, Calder was quick to notice one of the watchtowers by the entrance, manned by a group of kobolds. The creatures paid the group no heed and the ranger turned toward the camp, seeing about two dozen tents set up throughout the camp. Dozens of cultists roamed the camp as they took part in their camp chores. Two cultists patrolled the entrance and waved Arzenya over. Given that they haven't screamed for intruders, Calder believed everything was going well so far.
"Praise Tiamat's glory!" Arzenya greeted and held out her hand with her fingers outstretched with the others in her group doing so as well; this was a popular symbol of the Cult of the Dragon.
One of the cultists returned the sign while the other continued his patrol. "Praise Tiamat's glory!"
Arzenya led the way further into camp. Although the alarm had yet to be sounded, Calder felt uneasy. He was new to subtle matters such as infiltrating a camp and disguising himself as a cultist. The ranger couldn't help but feel out of place, something that the rest of the Cult of the Dragon would be quick to notice. He followed Arzenya along to behind a tent, although he kept his eyes on the cultists that walked around.
"Try not to get into any trouble," Arzenya whispered to the group. "Listen around, try to find your prisoner. I'll be back."
"You'll be back?" Zavier whispered back. "This wasn't part of the plan. You said you wanted to do all of the talking."
"And I expect you not to talk," Arzenya shot back quietly. "Listen and keep your mouth shut."
"Why can't you stay with us?" Skylar asked, concerned. "What aren't you telling us?"
"There may be someone in this camp who I need to kill," Arzenya answered with a shrug. "Shouldn't take me too long."
Zavier gasped. "Seriously? You can't do that!"
"I mean, I can," Arzenya said and tapped the hilt of her sword. "I don't see why not."
"It'll send the camp into alarm," Skylar argued. "That'll make our escape much more difficult."
"Sorry to break it to you but this is something I have to do," Arzenya shook her head. "Saving the prisoner is what you want to do. What I want is revenge."
Calder only had partial attention on the conversation. Instead, he was quick to notice that the cultist who walked away from the entrance talked to a group of cultists before moving onto the next. The ranger's eyes went wide as he jumped to the worst conclusion.
"Something's wrong," Calder noted. "We have to get out of here, now."
"Calder?" Skylar looked at her friend in surprise.
"This way!" Calder told the others.
Calder tried to put some distance between the cultists. Skylar and Zavier followed after him and even Arzenya was quick to notice that something was off. However, it soon became apparent to the group that it was too late. A dozen or so cultists cut off the way they were heading and another group covered the way they had come from. All had their scimitars out and Calder, Zavier, and Arzenya each pulled out their own weapons. However, a burst of lightning stopped a fight from breaking out. The lightning came from the mouth of a familiar blue-scaled warrior aligned with the cultist.
"Welcome to our camp," Langdedrosa Cyanwrath greeted with a grin. "I invite you to throw down your weapons before we have to kill you."
"Langdedrosa," Arzenya rolled her eyes. "If you're here, that means Frulam isn't too far away. Where is she?"
"She's quite busy," Cyanwrath informed her. "You shouldn't be here, Arzenya. Rezmir had you executed for heresy."
"As if she or her lackeys could kill me," Arzenya chuckled. "How about I kill you and move on?"
"I'm not interested in a fight with you," Cyanwrath shook his head, turning to Zavier. "Some of my followers recognized you as the dwarf's second. Where is Fargrim Torun?"
"He's, uh, occupied," Zavier said with a gulp.
"If he is not here, perhaps I shall fight you," Cyanwrath cackled.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Zavier laughed awkwardly. "Maybe there's a peaceful solution."
"Leave Zavier alone," Calder threatened Cyanwrath, holding both shortswords.
"You, I do not know," Cyanwrath said. "But word has spread of the heroes who defended Greenest, among them was a half-elf with red hair and a woman who had similar hair. When they saw you two show up with Fargrim's second, they knew something was up."
"You should have told me that you fought in a duel with Langdedrosa," Arzenya whispered to Zavier in a threatening tone.
"Technically, I didn't fight him," Zavier defended himself. "So much for this plan. It hasn't been five minutes and we're caught,"
"Now isn't the time to argue," Skylar told the two. "There has to be a way out of this mess."
"Throw down your weapons and surrender," Cyanwrath repeated himself. "If you do, I shall promise you that you won't be killed on the spot. I'd rather keep you alive to have Fargrim return for a rematch."
The four companions glanced at each other, deciding on what to do. Unfortunately, the odds were against them. They were in the middle of enemy territory and a fight breaking out would attract more attention. Additionally, Calder didn't think that any one of them could beat Cyanwrath. The draconic warrior was able to defeat Fargrim, someone the ranger considered to be the best fighter of the group. If they didn't have the other cultists to work out, the four of them could take him, but that wasn't an option.
Calder threw down both of his shortswords to the ground. Zavier was quick to follow in his example, and after glaring at the two, Arzenya stabbed her sword to the ground. Langdedrosa motioned for the cultists to subdue the group. Yet, when several broke off from the group to do so, they gasped in surprise. Calder was quick to notice that Zavier had vanished, having only heard him whisper just a moment ago. Before they could act, the cultists were quick to grab the remaining three, two cultists per spy, with Arzenya laughing.
"The fool left us to die!" Arzenya exclaimed. "He's only interested in saving his own skin!"
"Do not speak of our friend like that!" Skylar said harshly.
"Quiet!" Cyanwrath ordered. "Search the camp and the surroundings. If he used magic to get away, he couldn't have gotten too far. And if he did escape, he'll have to tell Fargrim about what happened."
"What should we do with these three?" one of the cultists asked.
"Take them to the back of camp and tie them to the poles there," Langdedrosa commanded. "I will report their trespass to Frulam and see what she wants to do."
Although Calder resisted being dragged, he knew better than to put up a serious fight. He couldn't risk any harm coming to Skylar and Arzenya, meaning that he had to go along with the cultists. While Arzenya was quick to call Zavier out on his cowardice, Calder was thankful that the bard was able to escape. If he was able to make it to their companions, then all wasn't lost.
Zavier was thankful for Invisibility, one of his newest spells that he managed to pick up. He figured that if the group was going against a cult known to work with dragons, it would be in his best interest to have an escape plan in mind. When Cyanwrath trapped the group, he saw his time to make his escape. It was unfortunate that he could only cast the spell on a single person but hoped that he could make it out to his companions somehow. Zavier ran as fast as his legs could carry him out of the camp, and when his invisibility faded away, he somehow managed to run even faster than before.
About half an hour later, Zavier stumbled into the camp, out of breath. The rest of his companions had finished their breakfast and Fargrim was quick to rush to his master's side. With Robert, Nameia, and Doltin gathering around as well, Zavier explained what had happened as he caught his breath. Unfortunately, the most vocal of the group preferred a direct solution than to rely on stealth.
"I'm goin' te kill that dragon and anyone else who gets in my way!" Fargrim declared.
"We must save our friends, no matter the cost," Nameia stepped forward to the edge of the camp. "Come, battle awaits!"
"Aye!" Fargrim grinned.
"Hold up a moment!" Doltin called out. "Please, uh, we should really reconsider this plan of action. You see, well, there's five of us, and, uh, too many of them."
Zavier nodded, holding up his hand to stop the others. "We must be smarter than to charge forward."
"What would you suggest?" Nameia asked; while she saw reason, Fargrim grunted impatiently.
"First, that we clear our camp, and well, try to put some space between us and our pursuers," Doltin answered. "You see, I think it would be in our best interest to strike at night."
"I have to concur," Zavier nodded in agreement. "I can come up with a plan."
"We don't know where they'll put our friends," Fargrim pointed out. "We need te find that out."
"I know," Zavier sighed and tapped his chin in thought. "There may be a way to do so."
"An' what would that be?" Fargrim asked.
"We still have a cultist uniform," Zavier thought out loud. "I can't use it since they'll recognize me but perhaps one of us can go unnoticed."
The group remained silent for several seconds, thinking on who the best candidate would be. Robert was the last of the group to notice that everyone else was looking at him.
"You can't be serious," Robert gasped. "I'm a terrible liar."
"But you don't stick out," Nameia told Robert. "We just need to think of a way to get you in the cult without being caught, especially now that they know someone is after them."
"And I have an idea for that," Zavier grinned. "Here, we'll need to change clothes and clear camp. There isn't a lot of time."
Zavier started to take off his cultist disguise while the others worked on clearing their campsite. The bard was convinced that despite Robert's doubts, getting him in with the cult was the easy part of saving their friends, especially with the plan he had. The difficult part would be to rescue Calder, Skylar, and Arzenya. There was no doubt that the Cult of the Dragon would be waiting. Whatever plan they came up with would have to be a good one.
Calder struggled against the bindings of the pole that he was tied to. Although it was a simple and crude design, the pole and rope was enough to keep him from escaping. Over to his left, Skylar accepted her position with a sense of calm. Arzenya struggled even harder from Skylar's other side and shouted obscenities at the passing cult guards who paid her no heed. Calder took several deep breaths, calming himself. He had to trust that Zavier and the others would be able to save them.
There was some good news about being captured though. Calder glanced to his right, making out a half-elf man with black hair and a trimmed mustache. He was shirtless which revealed the bruises he had suffered from being beaten. Yet, despite the pain he went through, there was a smirk of amusement on his face at the situation he had found himself in.
"Leosin?" Calder whispered to the bruised half-elf.
The half-elf turned to face Calder. "Have we met before?"
Calder shook his head. "We've been sent to rescue you by Nesim."
"You're off to a great start so far," Leosin commented, finally focusing on the trio.
Arzenya glared at the monk. "Do you want us to leave you here? Because if you make a comment like that again, I will leave you behind without looking back."
"Actually, I would like that," Leosin chuckled. "I didn't go through all the trouble of letting the Cult of the Dragon capture me just to be freed."
"You let them capture you," Skylar gasped. "Why?"
"To gather information," Leosin explained. "I've been studying the Cult of the Dragon for some time. However, the only way to learn more was to get close and personal. When I figured out the pattern to their attack, I stopped by Greenest and waited."
"Was it worth it?" Calder asked, motioning to Leosin's injuries with his head.
"It was," Leosin nodded. "Although I must say that captivity in Cult of the Dragon has proven to be more brutal than expected."
"Are we to be tortured as well?" Skylar asked Leosin.
"The Cult of the Dragon only bothers keeping prisoners who have something of value," Arzenya shook her head. "We don't know anything that the Cult of the Dragon wants and they can't put us to work. This means we're going to be sacrificed to Tiamat."
"Your friend has the right idea," Leosin commented. "I imagine that they'll put you to death tomorrow."
"Then we're going to have to escape before then," Calder said and returned to breaking out of his binding.
"Zavier and the others will come for us," Skylar said in a quiet tone. "I know it."
Arzenya rolled her eyes. "He's long gone by now."
Zavier's legs burned as a group of six cultists chased him. He was starting to get tired of running even though it was entirely his idea to have a group of his pursuers see him. The chase went on for several minutes before the bard finally turned around and held out his hands, chanting words of power. With the spell cast, the cultists all collapsed to the forest ground, some snoring loudly. Zavier sighed in relief and took this as a chance to rejoin the others.
When the cultists woke up, it took them several seconds to realize that their foe had used magic on them. They wasted no time in trying to find his tracks before the group of seven set out. Toward the back of the group, Robert held his breath and hoped that Zavier was able to get away. It seemed as though the cultists hadn't noticed there was an extra member but the true test would come when they returned to their camp whenever they decided that the bard was gone again.
A/N: So, a lot has happened in this chapter. I wanted to play around with scene changes as I have done in some of my other works, including ones related to Dungeons and Dragons.
I'm going to be looking at other projects for a little bit now that this story has been updated twice. Don't worry as it is not my intention to forget about Defense of Greenest.
Until next time.