After a brief rest, Normandy led Maebus, Kelm, and their group southward upon their horses. It was decided not to spend the night at the Northwest River after he advised that Legionaries may be looking for them. Travel by night may be safer. Having escorted them this far, he felt it appropriate to continue as their guide.
Completely bypassing Centre Pointe made the journey through the South Woods quicker. Barely a word was spoken by anyone as they moved swiftly toward the Hellish South Plains. Normandy assumed that recent revelations had left them all with little to say but much to contemplate.
It was mid-morning by the time they reached Maebus and Kelm’s stone cottage. He was told that they personally designed it to secure the Council after the fall of the kingdom. Tying their horses a few yards away, they stayed within the woods and quietly inspected the perimeter. Normandy listened to the wind shimmy the leaves of the high tree branches, and the flapping of birds above their head. Aside from the forest’s natural sounds, all seemed extremely still ... perhaps a bit too still.
The woodsman squatted behind a birch bush and signaled for the others to stay low. Pushing the branches out of his line of vision, he analyzed the cottage which sat no more than twenty yards away from them.
“I’m not quite sure where we are, but it doesn’t seem like anyone’s home,” Leoden whispered while crawling forward. He laid on his belly next to Normandy.
“Looks can be deceiving,” the woodsman warned as the others also inched closer.
“The Council has been in hiding here since the invasion. Perhaps they’re avoiding unwanted attention,” Kelm asked in a low voice.
Normandy didn’t immediately respond. There was something unusual about the cottage. “No, I don’t think so,” he stated upon figuring it out. “Look!”
The others followed the direction of his pointed finger. The front door of the stone cottage appeared to be slightly ajar, with a large dent at the center of it.
“Looks like someone kicked it in,” Maebus observed.
“Grab a weapon, and come on,” Normandy said, reaching for a large stick. “I sense trouble.”
The group rose to their feet. Fable picked up a rock from the ground. Leoden unsheathed his wood axe, Maebus his battle sword. Kelm rolled up the sleeves of his robe.
“I’ll lead. Stay close,” Normandy whispered.
Crouching low to the ground, he stepped cautiously from the bushes. He could hear the others following behind. Once making it clear to the front door, he pressed his back flat against the cottage wall. The others lined up with him. Slightly tilting his head, he peeked through the narrow opening, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything or anyone.
“Blast! It’s too dark to see in there,” he said.
Holding his stick in a striking position, he inched forward and carefully pushed open the door. It was surprisingly heavier than it looked, composed of solid metal. He rationed it would’ve taken a considerable amount of force to leave such a large dent in it.
Slowly, he poked his head through the doorway, praying not to have it lopped off. Another quick glance revealed the main living area to be empty. Creaking the door wide open, he stepped into the room, followed by Maebus, Kelm and the others.
• • • • •
Maebus entered the cottage’s darkened interior after Normandy. “Kelm, can you give us some light?”
Instantly, he and the others were shielding their vision from the bright flame the Wizard produced within his palm.
“Oh no,” Maebus exclaimed once his eyes adjusted to the light.
The interior was in complete disarray. Papers littered the floor, and furniture had been overturned or broken.
“It looks as if this place has been raided. General Thane must have tracked down the Council first,” Maebus assessed.
“I agree,” Normandy said, handing Kelm a candle to light. “Thane indeed possesses the physical strength to dent the door.”
“But where’s the Council?” Fable asked, turning in a full circle, scanning the room. “Were they captured, too?”
“No,” Maebus said. “Neither Damian nor Thane mentioned anything about them being held prisoner, nor did we see them in the castle’s dungeon.”
“Do you think they were killed?” Leoden asked. He stood over the clutter of overturned items like a scarecrow in a field.
“Despite this mess, there’s no blood or bodies inside or near this cottage.” Normandy analyzed. “At some point, they must have fled.”
“Maebus! Where’s the box?” Kelm’s mouth hung open.
“The what?” he replied.
“The box! The one we gave the Council to take with them. The one that contained the stones!”
Maebus’ eyes widened with fear. “Search for them quickly!”
Together, they scoured the cottage for the stones. Fearing the worst, Maebus rummaged through the clutter, carelessly tossing objects left and right while Kelm rifled through the shelves and corners of the room.
“Perhaps the Council took them?” Leoden stood by helplessly.
“Nope, found them right here!” Kelm proclaimed.
Maebus sighed in relief as the Wizard picked up the metal container. It had been lying upside down as if someone had discarded it. Kelm opened it, revealing three large stones to the others. All three fit within his palm. Their smooth, shiny black and green surfaces resembled marble.
“What are they?” Leoden peeked over Kelm’s shoulder.
“These stones are actually eggs,” he explained. “Each of them contains a single Fire Hawk that will grow to adult size within minutes. This is how we intended to signal our troops.”
“Signal them how?” Leoden was curious.
Kelm grabbed one of the stone eggs and gave it to the young warrior.
“Carrier-Hawks are how Realmsic soldiers usually send quick messages to one another. Fire Hawks are similar although we haven’t fully implemented them yet. We intended to use them as air support in battle, or for flying great distances to deliver messages.”
Leoden scratched his head. “How does that work?”
“Well, as part of their uniform, our soldiers will wear bracelets that are magically bonded with the collar of each hawk. By writing a small message on the collar, the words will appear on their bracelets as the hawks fly over them. Think of it as instant messaging!”
Leoden’s smile was wider than Maebus had ever seen. Clearly, the teenager was impressed. He handed the stone back to Kelm who then placed it inside the container.
“Every soldier was issued a bracelet before Damian’s invasion,” Maebus added while taking the box and leading everyone outside. Carefully, he placed the three stones on the ground in front of the cottage. “Ready, Kelm?”
The Wizard waved his hands over them, but suddenly stopped. He turned to Maebus. “If we proceed, there’s no turning back,” he said.
Maebus smiled wryly. “Turning back was never an option.”
With that, the Grand Wizard chanted, “Offn ligg und flygein.” In the ancient Realmsic language, the words meant ‘Of Life and Flight.’
Instantaneously, the eggs jittered upon the ground. They all heard scratching emanating from each as they began to hatch. With a crackle, three tiny, crimson-colored hawks broke the surface of their shells and emerged. Silver collars rested on their necks.
Awestruck, the group observed as the hawks squawked and twisted upon the ground, growing exponentially. Within moments. they were fully grown, standing about the height of an adult human.
Leoden gently caressed the scaly skin of one of them “I thought they would be made of fire,” he mused.
“No, no,” Kelm answered. “Fire covers their skin only during battle. Otherwise, they’re extremely gentle creatures.” The Wizard stroked the long silver beak of another. He turned to Maebus. “Have you thought about a message?”
After a moment, he answered, “The kingdom will rise. Unite at the haven in the South Lands.” His words were transcribed upon each collar by K
elm simply touching them. He then pointed upward, and the hawks immediately soared into the sky, leaving behind a small dust cloud.
Together, their group watched the birds trail away in multiple directions.
“Powerful,” Normandy stated, wiping feathers from his face.
“Yeah, I literally ate their dust,” Leoden added, wiping his tongue repeatedly on the back of his sleeve.
Maebus chuckled, “They’ll fly discreetly throughout the entire Realm, alerting our troops.” For a long time, he focused on the hawks, following them until he could no longer see them in the distance.
Kelm joined him. “It’ll take a few days for our troops to gather,” he said.
“Yes. And now comes the hardest part,” Maebus groaned.
“What’s that?”
“Waiting.”
Chapter Forty-Nine