Douglas Niles - Feathered Dragon

Immediately several of the workers grabbed their erstwhile captain and dragged him forward. Don Vaez protested loudly, until one of the men cuffed him soundly.

“Cordell!” A shout rose from the men among the tents.

”Hail, Cordell!” It was echoed by the workers on the rampart above.

In the meantime, the captain-general descended from the rampart and crossed to the injured cleric. The groaning Pryat Devane struggled to straighten his leg out so that he could cast a spell of healing upon it.

“Wait,” ordered Cordell, standing above the terrified priest. “There’s somebody else I want you to heal first. Pick him up,” he ordered several of his loyal legionnaires.

With the sputtering Don Vaez in tow, they started toward the cell where the injured Eagle Knight, Katl, still lay.

In thankfulness to the god who has seen so much of our journey completed.

We arrive in the plain before Ulatos late at night, exhausted from the last stage of our march. We make camp on me savannah, building our cookfires, though the hour is Past midnight.

Later we learn that these fires, seen by the men in Helmsport, gave them fear of Cordell’s army. The joke is a good

one, on all save the hapless Don Vaez. Cordell is indeed a charmed soldier, it would seem, for now he takes a fort of fifteen hundred men with the help of twelve legionnaires and two dozen Eagle Knights.

Already, at first light, the twenty-five ships of the new. comers are sent to the south under the command of a veteran navigator. They intend to sail around the jungles of Payit to the Sea of Azul. There they will gather the remainder of Cordell’s men and the warriors of Kultaka as well.. And as to us, we shall rest here in Ulatos. Erixitl still slumbers, and not until we can restore her awareness will we make the final leg of our journey. But ultimately, I am confident, we will trek to Twin Visages, and there we will seek the coming of the Plumed God.

Halloran approached the brown bulk of Helmsport, Storm cantering easily across the fields. Concern for his wife formed a cold knot in his chest, but that didn’t completely vanquish his alertness and caution.

Word had spread through Ulatos with the coming of dawn: The conqueror, Captain-General Cordell himself, once again commanded the great fortress! By now the streets were filled with the news, mostly spoken by Mazticans with a mixture of trepidation and awe.

lb Hal, however, the news had carried the prospect of hope, which now led him to seek out Cordell. Erixitl remained unconscious, guarded by Gultec and Jhatli, while Daggrande had started over to the fortress on foot. Halloran had not wanted to wait.

Still, how would Cordell receive him? Now that the captain-general had regained an army and once again held a position of command, would he cooperate with the request of a former fugitive?

Pulling in the reins as he neared the entrance to the fortress, he nodded to the two halberdiers flanking the wide notch in the earthwork. Their polished breastplates and clean, unpatched leggings looked odd to Halloran, whose own equipment and clothes wore the marks of more than a year’s campaign.

They regarded him with suspicious frowns until he spoke.

“I’m here to see the captain-general” he barked. “Where will 1 find him?”

Blinking in surprise, the guard quickly pointed to the large headquarters building. “He’s in there now.”

Halloran wasted no time, spurring Storm into a speedy trot across the huge courtyard of the fortress. Around hint he saw companies of horsemen drilling, while other troop) did laundry or polished armor. The harquebuses worked at cleaning their cumbersome muskets.

Before the headquarters building, he reined in and dismounted quickly. Two guards barred the door, but the portal suddenly opened to reveal the captain-general himself. Cordell wore a shining breastplate. His black hair and beard were neatly trimmed, and a long green plume danced from his gleaming helmet.

“Halloran! Good work, man. What a surprise to see you here!”

“And a surprise for me as well,” Hal replied, taking the hand that his old commander offered. “How fared the Nexalans at Tukan?”

Briefly Cordell recounted the tale of the horde’s withdrawal, coupled with the discovery of Don Vaez’s arrival. “And this is where the eagle brings you now?” Cordell finished with an inquiry.

“I haven’t time to explain. I come for a different purpose.” Quickly Halloran described their experience at the City of the Gods and the mission that now sent them to Twin Visages. He told of the mysterious affliction that struck Erixitl. “I need a cleric, the best one you have, to see if he can bring her out of it! As long as she remains unconscious, we don’t have a chance!”

“This might explain the giant the eagles observed with the Beasts of the Viperhand,” said Cordell, describing the image of the looming stone monolith as told to him by Chical

“Yes-that’s Zaltec himself. We must get to Twin Visages before him to allow Qotal to return to Maztica. He’s the only one who can battle his brother! And only Erixitl can open the path for him!”

Cordell looked thoughtful, a hand stroking his beard. “It’s true that there are several clerics among these men. They could offer some aid, I’m certain. One of them, in fact, just healed himself after an unfortunate… accident. He is a pryat in the service of Helm.”

“Please-send him to the temple!” Hal blurted.

But Cordell’s eyes narrowed. “But tell me now, why should I? After all, you have renounced service in my legion. You made that very clear”

Halloran’s face flushed. His anger nearly compelled his fingers toward Cordell’s throat, but he forced himself to hold still- “It’s important that she recover-not just for me, but for all of us!”

Cordell acted as though he hadn’t heard. “Of course, I’m sure we could work something out.” He smiled, as if a pleasant idea slowly took shape in his mind.

“You know, I’m short of good horse captains! It’s no secret that you were one of the best, Captain Halloran. Now, if you were to join with me quickly-now-I would have no cause for denying you the services of these faithful men of god.”

Halloran looked at Cordell in disbelief. Unconsciously his hands clenched into fists, yet he forced his voice to remain calm as he replied.

“You know that I can’t do that. I am a man of Maztica now, Whatever the purpose of this new army of yours, I can make no pledge to support it-or even to stand aside when you march.”

Cordell sighed. Halloran waited, wondering what the captain-general would do next. The door to the building opened again, and Hal looked up to see a fully-cloaked Eagle Warrior emerge.

“Chical,” Halloran said, with a bow.

“It is good to see you, my friend,” replied the knight. Then Chical turned to Cordell. “You must give him the help he seeks. He is right when he says that his wife’s task is important to all of us.”

Cordell looked at the Eagle Knight sharply, annoyance creasing his brow. Clearly he didn’t like the interference of another in what he considered to be his own prerogatives of command. Then he looked back at Halloran.

“I shall send them immediately-as I was about to do. My ploy was just that, an attempt to get you back. I meant what I said, Hal-you were the best.”

Halloran studied Cordell, trying to figure out if he was telling the truth or merely attempting to save face. Finally Hal held his hands up. “I’ll take the help you send, and gratefully.”

Kardann groped his way through the tangled forest, propelled only by fear-fear of what lay behind him. AH of his nightmares, all the terrors that Maztica had aroused in him in the past, seemingly endless months were as nothing compared to the dread in which he now held Cordell.