Return of the Emblem Chapter Thirteen: Flight

[Mercakete]

"They're Mercy's animals," Norbert briefly explained to Fizza. He hadn't expected that that wouldn't be common knowledge outside of Ursium, but now that he thought about it, it made sense. After all, the Rexians seemed to serve one goddess -- and a picky one at that. It'd seemed strange to him when he learned about it -- to the point of blowing it off, actually -- so why wouldn't the reverse be true?

There were more important things to focus on right now, though. To the guard captain, he shrugged. "If any of your men want to come along, I don't care. If any of the mercenaries want to come, they'll say so. It seems to just be how things go with us. But we shouldn't waste time."

As for Doran and Shadrak's conversation, Norbert acknowledged the exchange, but didn't have anything more to add. He was just glad that what he said was -- in some form -- being taken into account. That, and again, he didn't disagree with anything they were saying, except that he preferred to prioritize the riders over their mounts. He also thought that, seeing as they had fliers of their own, freeing the pegasi and getting cornered didn't make much sense. In fact, if part of their group went to free the pegasi, and part went to free the riders, they could wind up even flanking the bandits, depending on the layout of the base.

And that was another reason why he didn't see a reason to plan much more before gathering more information. Too much depended on the base's layout and construct. So, he was more inclined to focus on scouting at the moment.

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo looked back at the now nervous looking Woman, and replied back with; " Just came here not that long ago... I usually only walked through the shopping areas and alleyways. So not that well." Rolo noticed that the Woman refereed to their pursuer as "guys", so Rolo turned his head to look behind him and noticed two more strangers had tagged along. "I think we might be able to lose them in a crowd if we run off into a more heavily crowded area." Rolo nervously muttered to the Woman. Rolo didn't know if there was any place like that, but this was the best suggestion he could think of.

[Toogee]

After a brief and almost explosive trek through the minefield, the group was nearly prepared for the attack. Jam remained on the sidelines, listening to the developing plan. It sounded as though they needed more info before they could continue further. For that, scouts were needed. Eager to help get the riders out of bondage (and get Greta her wagon), the dancer volunteered her services.

"I can help scout," Jam said to the trio. "You think they're hungry for entertainment out in the middle of nowhere? I might be able to get inside."

Jam was already imagining selling her dancing skills to bored bandits. Then, in the dead of night, she'd break the riders out and ride off on pegasi before the fighting ever started. It sounded like one of Erion's tales, one she couldn't wait to tell him.

Of course, the plan would have to go well first...

[Phoenix]

Preparing to Flee

Escaping wasn't the only issue; finding a decent place to lie low for a while was equally important, especially since there were three of them that would be searching. Greta mentally crossed off some of the places that just wouldn't do for evading these potential wrathites, such as a nearby church or the barracks she'd come from earlier. She considered taking full advantage of the fact that she and Rolo were the sorts other people would leap to the defense of if an altercation broke out, but decided she didn't want to take the risk. After all, if the men following them really were wrathites, as she suspected, then they probably had their bases covered, at least on the legal side of things.

"Forget this ... we'll just have to circle around and get out of here," she said, mostly to herself. She looked to Luca, who was still waiting for her to get distracted again so he could take another apple. "Okay, this isn't my brightest idea, but I don't wanna find out what those guys have planned for us." She carefully secured the basket she was holding to Luca's saddlebags using some spare rope, and then took the basket Rolo was carrying and fastened it to the other side. She'd had a few opportunities to look back at the men following them as she worked and while they weren't gaining on them, they were definitely not letting them out of their sight.

"Alright, we're gonna keep goin' and once there are a lot of people between us and them, I'm hoppin' up on Luca. I'll give ya a hand and then we're ridin' outta here. Got that?"

Preparing to Scout

"You'll get inside, alright," Doran rolled his eyes at the rexian girl's suggestion. "There's a wrathdamn minefield between them and the rest of the world. You really think they're not going to suspect something if you just walk up to them and ask if they'd like some entertainment?"

"Well, I doubt they'd say 'no,' exactly," Shadrak sighed, "but they'll definitely capture you, Jamilla, just like they did the pegasus knights. I'm not saying you shouldn't give Bert a hand, but if you do, don't get spotted. We'll lose the element of surprise, and probably both of you, too."

[Mercakete]

Norbert was also concerned with Jamilla's proposed sale's pitch. The kind of entertainment she was thinking of and the kind the bandits would think of were likely not the same sort. Planting that kind of idea into their heads was just dangerous. Hearing what Shadrak had to say, too, got him thinking on something he hadn't considered, too.

The way Jamilla had said it, the rider had automatically assumed that Jamilla was offering to get in without him, cancelling the need to scout the walls out. If she was really suggesting the both of them just walk up to the base and ask if they'd be let in... Well, considering the combination of a pegasus and some performer who vaguely asked to entertain them would definitely get them captured. No way he was letting himself or Rizen get lumped into that, whether these bandits knew about Norbert's reputation in the north or not.

Bert adamantly shook his head. "Shadrak's right. If we go, we're going to look at what the walls are made of and that's it. I'm not risking getting caught or attacked. That means no flybys either, in case you were expecting that. Once we know more about the walls, we can work out how best to deal with them. It'd be nice to know the layout, but unless I can pick someone off without anyone knowing about it -- and that's not something I'm confident enough in to try it -- I don't think we're getting that information until we're inside. And even then, the last guy we interrogated wasn't too willing to say much, so I wouldn't count on anything more from anyone else."

[Toogee]

Jam wasn't exactly used to keeping hidden. If a dancer was not seen, she was not paid. Yet playing to her strengths wasn't the strategy here, or so everyone else was saying.

"Gee, when you put it that way, it sounds like a dumb idea," Jam replied to Doran. "I was hoping for something a little more nuanced...but if all you need is stuff on the structure, I can do that too."

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo quickly grabbed onto the Woman's hand and climbed onto the horse.

"A-all right Lady, let's get a move on sh-shall we?" Rolo nervously said

[Phoenix]

Elusive Charron

Having already revealed that she was keeping an eye out for trouble to their three tails, Greta felt relatively safe continuing to check so long as they weren't getting any closer. After all, the three of them were trying to avoid suspicion, as well, otherwise they would probably just come up and drag them both off somewhere. Still, she tried to peek back over her shoulder as tactfully as she could.

At first, she only saw one of the cloaked figures. The other one cloaked, as well as the man who'd been following them initially, wasn't there. Greta flinched. "Where ...?" She stopped short when she turned back to look again and caught sight of the man they'd spoken to making off toward the edge of the market. A quick scan revealed the other cloaked figure, who was now on the other side of the kiosks to their right and was starting to pull ahead of them. "Crap!" They had to move now or they were going to get intercepted by one of the two that broke away. The cloaked man was close enough to reach her before she could mount and haul Rolo up, so she needed as big a diversion as she could get.

"I hate to do this but it's not worth gettin' caught," she warned Rolo, alluding to the painful loss she was about to endure. She took out the rest of her money and tossed it up and over her head, and even as the coins began to spread out behind her and grab the attention of everyone around her, she hauled herself up into the saddle. The cloaked man began making a mad dash toward her when he realized what was happening, but people rushing in to catch the falling coins cut him off. As the coins began crashing down on the ground and into the waiting palms of gleeful shoppers, Greta reached down to Rolo. "Come on! We're gettin' outta here!"

[CobyTheGoober]

"Y-yeah" Rolo frantically said. Rolo turned around and looked at the sprawled out coins laying on the street, and the shoppers who were looking for quick coins. He was a bit tempted to join them, but didn't for obvious reasons.

[Phoenix]

Running

The second Rolo was seated behind her, she yelled, "Hang on," and kicked Luca into action. The horse carried them off in irritated compliance just as the bewildered man in the cloak made it past the kneeling shoppers. Greta saw him as she looked back. He was definitely trying to stop them, but for what purpose, she still wasn't completely certain. He wouldn't catch them on foot, which just meant there were only two immediate threats left to worry about. They could only intercept her and hope they could intimidate Luca into stopping ... unlikely, or drag her, Rolo, or both of them from the saddle. With this in mind, she carefully kept an eye out for the edge of the market area as Luca blazed through the crowds. People were getting shoved by him on occasion, but no one had been seriously hurt, yet, thankfully.

"Stop," came a familiar voice from somewhere to the west. Greta saw him running in the same direction they were fleeing in, but with a row of kiosks and two groups of shoppers between them. "Don't you know how dangerous this is?!" Greta smirked inwardly as she thought back to their conversation a minute ago.

There was still a small problem. They were heading north, and that led to the northern gate. It would take them ages to get there at this pace, but that did little to change the fact that they were heading in the wrong direction, at least if an eventual rendezvous with the rest of the group was the plan. Greta knew the group's profits were at stake as well, since the wrathites might enlist the local guardsmen to help them, in which case, any agreements between her and them would be effectively null and void. Best then to find some way of keeping the guards out of this ... if that was even still possible ...

Scouting

"He could go on his own," Doran began, deciding not to call Norbert a name so as to avoid wasting what little time they had left, "but it's safer to scout in twos, that way, even if you get ambushed, there's a chance one of you will make it back or at least send up a signal of some kind. That's how we do things, at least. That's why the captain wants to send two people. That said, if you're going to go, go."

"That's about the gist of it," the guard captain nodded. "We'll be here sharpening our blades in the meantime and piece together a plan once you get back. If Sonya shows up while we're planning we'll just have to play the rest by ear."

[Mercakete]

Norbert nodded, agreeing that they should get going. He wasn't entirely sure if Jam was still volunteering or not. It sounded like she'd been asking the captain if she could go, and from the sound of things, she had his approval. So, the rider turned his attention to Jam and offered her a hand up from where he was seated in Rizen's saddle. "You coming?"

[Toogee]

Jam looked to Norbert, offering his hand to give her a ride. She also looked over to Rizen. Her last attempt at getting ride upon Rizen was quite the fiasco. Needless to say, she was hesitant at first.

"Uh...is she gonna be OK with this?" Jam asked Norbert. The dancer slowly reached out to the rider's hand, in case the pegasus reacted negatively.

[Mercakete]

The rider nodded. Though he didn't show it, he was kind of glad that Jam was being so cautious. It showed she understood Rizen's situation and respected it, even if it was only a little.

"Rizen doesn't trust others and so won't let anyone she doesn't know ride her," he replied as he took Jam's hand and helped her up behind him. "And even then, she won't let just anyone ride her by themselves. If you're with me, though, and she knows I'm letting you ride, she won't give you any trouble. It's always better to talk to a pegasus' handler before approaching his or her pegasus, so I'm glad you thought to ask."

Once Jam was situated -- and after asking if she was okay with sitting behind him -- they rode off, keeping on hoof. Norbert intended to keep a quick pace until they neared the base. Whatever the situation was around it after that would determine what he chose to do, but for now, he was planning on dismounting a little before they ran out of cover. He also kept Rizen's hoofbeats as quiet as possible by having her run over where the trees' pine needles covered the ground the most thickly while keeping on course.

It didn't take very long to reach the edges of the bandits' clearing. The trees had gotten progressively sparser in the approach, and now the stronghold was in clear view. Norbert stayed within the treeline, but had adjusted his initial strategy. That is, he'd stayed in the saddle. It was quicker to just ride off if trouble came, and given the progression of the thinning of the trees, it was just more practical than dismounting and walking half the distance. He figured they wouldn't stick around long enough to be noticed anyway.

"Well, here we are," Norbert quietly noted, looking at the base. He didn't intend to get any closer unless it was absolutely necessary. Even as it was, Rizen's flank was facing the base. Both riders had a clear view of it this way, albeit from a distance, as they hadn't exited the treeline.

From what he could see, the walls were made from wood. Particularly, upright trunks that had been cut and fashioned into the walls before them, which were about 30ft high. The tops of said trunks had been carved to a point. There were also lookout towers built into the corners of the walls. Though they weren't much taller than the walls themselves, their function was obvious. Norbert had expected something like this, which was why he was unwilling to get any closer. Rizen could blend in well enough with the woods at a distance with her dark tack and gear, but even at this distance he preferred to get back to the others as quickly as possible. Besides, there wasn't any more cover any closer to the base. At least, from here, the branches helped to shield them.

"See anything useful besides wooden walls, lookout towers, and that there's no way they won't see us coming if we attack before Sonya gets here?" he asked the dancer. He didn't mention the lay of the land specifically yet, but he planned on going into more detail about it when he went to report back to the others.

Edited December 1, 2015 by Mercakete

[Toogee]

The rider nodded. Though he didn't show it, he was kind of glad that Jam was being so cautious. It showed she understood Rizen's situation and respected it, even if it was only a little.

"Rizen doesn't trust others and so won't let anyone she doesn't know ride her," he replied as he took Jam's hand and helped her up behind him. "And even then, she won't let just anyone ride her by themselves. If you're with me, though, and she knows I'm letting you ride, she won't give you any trouble. It's always better to talk to a pegasus' handler before approaching his or her pegasus, so I'm glad you thought to ask."

"Heh, hard to forget after the last time," Jam replied, glad that she wasn't immediately kicked off. It wasn't long before they started moving. The dancer was taken by surprised at how fast they were moving through the brush; she had to hold onto Norbert's shoulders to keep balance. Though not nearly as fast as an open field would allow, Jam could tell that this kind of trek was routine for the pegasus.

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Once they arrived at the treeline, Jam saw what the big deal was. The fort had the same fortifications one would expect a military base to have. All she could see were walls, towers, and the wide open expanse between them and the fort. She kept her eyes open for more details.

"Well, there isn't anyone patrolling on the ground. That's something. Maybe it'd be easier to sneak up on the place at night-"

Jam stopped speaking for a moment. She could have sworn she saw a shadow move in one of the towers.

"You sure they can't see us?" Jam was beginning to realize that her lilac attire wasn't exactly conducive to camouflage.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Toogee

[Mercakete]

"No," he answered, eyes focusing on the towers for a moment. Did she see someone? "But I'm trying to keep us at a good distance and I'm not leaving what cover we have. Still, we had to get somewhat close to try to actually learn anything."

He began to turn Rizen around to head back to the others. "I wasn't planning on staying very long, though; the longer we're here, the more likely it is we'll be seen. And as for patrols... I think Fizza killed the last one they sent out. At least we have that, so it should be safe to stay in the area and prepare for a while longer."

True to his word, Norbert didn't wait any longer. He, his pegasus, and their guest passenger were soon heading back through the trees and into the denser woods. The rider didn't rush off initially, though. Quick movements might draw suspicion, not to mention that sound carried a lot further in the open than it did in the thick of the foliage in the forest. Once he felt safe about it, he let Rizen increase her pace as they hurried back to the Ursaean and mercenary forces.

[Toogee]

Though Jam understood that they had to leave, she felt that they didn't learn much that they didn't already expect. What was on the other sides? They didn't even get to see the air defenses that were bringing down pegs.

"Should we check out the front before we leave? Find some weak points or something? I didn't even see any of the ballista they're probably using to take down those pegasi..."

[CobyTheGoober]

He was too nervous too really say anything, so Rolo just held tight and waited for the Woman's next action.

[Mercakete]

"No," Norbert replied with a shake of his head. "It's too risky; there's not enough cover. Besides, even if we skirted around and no one noticed our movement, we wouldn't be able to get close enough to learn anything more useful without flying to get a look inside those walls. And like I said, I'm not doing that -- we'd be caught or killed and just make things harder on everyone else. All we really needed to know was what the walls were made of anyway, and we know that now."

Norbert only pulled Rizen to a stop once they reach the others, partially turning her so that Jam could dismount towards them if she wanted to. He also immediately began reporting, figuring that Jam could add on what she wanted to. "The base is about 200 meters or so from here. The woods thin out the closer you get to the base and there's no cover for a good stretch before you actually reach the walls. There are lookout towers, too, so we're definitely going to want to wait for that dragon to show up before we break tree cover. The walls are made of wood -- thick logs -- but I'm pretty sure we'll be able to punch our way through."

[Toogee]

Jam did dismount; she didn't want to know what would happen if she was on Rizen without Norbert. The dancer followed along to add her own observations.

"The ground looked undisturbed, so I don't think there's another minefield, if that's any consolation."

[Phoenix]

Flight

Greta's eyes were everywhere at once, trying desperately to find something she could use to put some more distance between her and their pursuers. She had to be quick about this, though, since any guards that noticed her speeding off on horseback with several wrathites chasing her would immediately join said chase. Just ahead, she saw the edge of the marketplace. From there and past one of the main roads, there were nothing but homes towering over dark and narrow alleyways. Their pursuers likely hadn't gotten this far ahead of them, but if one just happened to be waiting here, they could be easily cut off. Luca might also just trample them. Neither was a particularly good way for this part of the chase to end, so she prayed they hadn't over prepared and left someone far ahead of them.

"Listen, Rolo," she began, figuring she might as well warn him about any potential grabs, now, "if you feel someone tryin' to pull ya down from the saddle, don't let'em. Kick, punch, throw an apple at'em. Do whatever ya have do to stay up here." Just as she finished the statement, Luca brought them from the edge of the market, across the street, and into the alleyways. The entire atmosphere had changed in an instant, from a sunny orange tinged commercial area, to a dark, cool gray labyrinth of narrow passages and sharp turns. Luca had to slow down, now, or any direction from Greta would be impossible to follow. She quickly leaned right and began to steer him in that direction so they could make a quick turn, and hopefully vanish from sight of their pursuers for the time being. For her, losing them was necessary before turning back to head for the southern gate, otherwise they would know where to look, and would probably be waiting there the next time she came back. She was starting to doubt she would come back, though. It didn't seem wise. She supposed they could send someone else, someone who still didn't exist as far as the wrathites were concerned.

"Sorry about all this," Greta sighed, "I really should've thought this through. Just seemed like there was a one in a million chance of some wrathites actually bein' around to hear random emblem talk." She also couldn't help but feel that despite what the wrathites were capable of, she may have overreacted and complicated the situation even more, both for herself, and Rolo. Really, that was the part she was actually sorry for. She didn't regret her decision to run, though. A second slip on her part could have gotten her arrested, and anything they managed to get out of her could have threatened the whole group.

Scouting Debrief

"Lookout towers," the captain frowned at the words, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised. At least they haven't had time to really fortify the place; wooden walls aren't going to pose too much of a problem. I take it you couldn't find a way to check the inner layout?"

Palisade, then, Shadrak nodded to himself. "We can cut or blast through with Angelica's wind magic or melt through with one of my spells. That said, my suggestions for actually taking the place haven't changed, even though we're probably going to have a really hard time getting the drop on them even with Sonya's help. We definitely want to make sure they can't just escape through the entrance and scatter in the woods. If that happens, we'll never catch them all." The fact that pursuing the bandits through their home territory without thinking could land them right back in the minefield, probably didn't need to explicitly stated after what they'd gone through the first time.

Joining Forces

All his life, Haythem had been taught to avoid dragons, and with good reason. Those living in the mountains just north of Sanctuary were so hostile to humans that they fit the common Ursian's mental image of a Neviskotian dragon perfectly. They were vicious, territorial, and there was no reasoning with them. The dragon that was flying alongside them now, however, was completely different, and even after a bit of back and forth between her and Amon, Haythem was still adjusting. Initially, his instincts had nearly gotten him to force Isis into some evasive maneuvers, but when the dragon called out to them, in common no less, Amon was intrigued enough to stop him. There wasn't any menace in her tone at the time, so he agreed not to overreact, at least for now. Fortunately, it turned out that this dragon, Sonya, had an agreement with the very people they were going to see. An amendment to that agreement was inevitable, now.

"You are going in with me, that way they are not spotting ground team too soon," Sonya said to the group, leaving no room for argument.

"There's no way we can land close enough to join them before the fighting starts?" Amon grimaced. It would be difficult to coordinate at all that way. "We're going to be touching down in the middle of a skirmish. It's not suicidal, but Isis won't be able to protect herself while flying that low."

"Minefield is killing anyone unprepared and time is up. You will be waiting for opening in fighting, then landing."

Haythem let out a breath he only now realized he'd been holding. "It's fine, Amon. At least they'll know we are here if we're flying along with her. They can focus on taking out any defenses they have that could get in our way. Besides, we're not helpless in these situations, I just really hate winding up in them. Though ... if it's all the same to you, Miss, we'll be keeping our distance so we don't get hit."

Sonya grinned. "Yes, coming along is pointless if you are not even surviving journey."

[-Cynthia-]

I really shoulda found a way to take the gold and run. Dragons and minefields- will this crazy shit ever end? Nadya wondered to herself, staff at the ready. Someone was going to need it, that much was obvious.

[Mercakete]

Norbert shook his head at the captain's question. "There wasn't enough cover to get close and I wasn't risking skirting a treeline that sparse, let alone a fly-by." More aimed at Shadrak's concerns now, he continued, "The wall we saw didn't have a door, so I'm not sure which side of the place it's in. I wouldn't try to find that out until the dragon has the bandits' attention, though."

Norbert frowned thoughtfully to himself as he went on. "Which brings us back to how to prioritize our mobility. There're too many things to cover. Flying bandits to intercept, running bandits to intercept, captured riders to free quickly, captured pegasi to free quickly... If the door's on the other side of the base, we'll have to find some way to block that before anyone gets out, and that's not going to be easy. And if the bandits have pegasi they can ride, that's a lot of airspace to cover by itself."

He shook his head. "We might not be able to get all of them. I say we prioritize freeing the riders and the pegasi. If they can help us keep the bandits contained, great. If not, the important thing is getting them out of there safely. That's what I think. At least regarding where Eva and I should go first."

Speaking of her, Norbert shifted his attention to the wyvern rider. "Hey, what do you think of freeing the captured riders? Your wyvern's just going to scare the pegasi, so I think Lumi and I should handle them. And Lumi," he turned his attention to her "just to be clear, I'm not asking you to bring Star into this. I just thought that since you're an experienced pegasus handler, Riz and I could ferry you over and we could defend the pegasi until their riders get to us."

[scorri]

Lumi nodded. "I'd been planning on heading that way anyways, so seems like a good plan. And don't worry, Star's far away from this battle."

Hoshi sat quietly as the discussion with the dragon occurred, taking the opportunity to study the beast. The four dragons of Kigen belief were an important part of her life, and while this dragon was of course nothing like them, it was still always interesting to see something she hadn't experienced before. The thought of risking their lives as they joined the battle was something she didn't want to dwell too long on, so focusing on the dragon helped with that as well.

[CobyTheGoober]

Rolo smiled awkwardly at the Woman and said ;" It's all right, none of us knew that we would have been chased down by crazy people".

Rolo then scratched his head and sighed. "So now what do we do?"

[Phoenix]

The Back Alleys

"Now?" Greta echoed, "now we try to find a way to lose'em so we can head back south. We need to get back to the others without gettin' followed." Greta reconsidered the situation almost immediately. "Then again, if we head back now, someone might spot us out on the plains and follow us right up the mountain. Dangit, this is bad ..."

Suddenly Greta heard a voice in her head. It was buried beneath her own thoughts, faint and barely noticeable at first. It was calling to her, and it sounded familiar. She wasn't convinced it was anything but her imagination, but the voice's plea demanded her attention, so much so that when Luca began to pick up his pace again, she was caught off guard. They had just made a second turn and were now heading south again, but Greta didn't want to go back out into the marketplace. She wanted to come out of this labyrinth somewhere else entirely. She also wasn't sure it was a good idea to head back just yet in either case.

The Voice

Joanna balled her fists in impotent frustration. Simply calling out to Greta wasn't enough, it seemed. Ever since she'd returned to keeping an eye on the various groups, she had been on the lookout for trouble, and seeing Greta on the run had her on edge. She wanted to help somehow but either Greta couldn't hear her at all, or she was too distracted, or maybe even ignoring her, assuming it was all just a trick of a desperation addled mind. Regardless, Joanna had to try something else, or she wouldn't be able to help at all.

"This isn't working," she finally said aloud, "Greta's running from someone, someone in a cloak. There's someone else with her too, a young boy. I don't know exactly what's going on yet, but I'm positive she's in trouble."

"Weee are never going to catch a break, are we?" Glen groaned, not sure what he or anyone else there could do about it. It didn't sit right with him to leave that whole problem for Greta to solve on her own, but they were hours away, now. And who was this boy that was apparently with her?

The Details

"See this is why I recommended splitting into two groups, one to block the entrance, and one to get in over and through the walls," Shadrak said, crossing his arms, "Sonya's going to be drawing most of their attention, so while it's dangerous out in the open, it should still be possible to move a team into place to keep the bandits bottled up while the rest breach from the south, free the riders, and try to take down any bandits we can."

"We're also going to want to get to Lich before he finds some way to slip away," the guard captain noted. "If he's in charge, then he's responsible for how well defended this place is, and probably isn't stupid enough to stick around if he thinks even the 'skotians are helping us. I can take most of my men to hold the entrance if no one sees any glaring problems with that approach."

Doran shrugged. "As long as none of the captives get killed."

"So ... Bert, Eva, and Lumi, free pegasi and their riders ... myself and or Angelica breach the wall ... the captain and his men block the entrance, and everyone else hit the bandits? That sound good?" Shadrak looked to everyone else.

The Final Approach

"I am seeing the base, now," Sonya warned. She began to slowly veer to the right, gaining considerable distance from Isis and her passengers in the process. "We are approaching from the east, not the south," she called back to them. Haythem supposed now was the time to follow their new dragon ally a lot more closely, instead of just heading in the same general direction. He couldn't see the base clearly yet, but he doubted his vision was on par with Sonya's and simply kept Isis in lockstep with her.

"I guess everyone just hang on and try not to get hit by any stray arrows until we land. After that, try and help out however you can," Amon said, lowering himself slightly in preparation for the coming battle.