Richard Tuttle - Winged Warrior

The Star of Sakova turned and strode from the room. She barely made the corridor before the tears started streaming down her face. Temiker rushed after her and tried to console her.

“Leave me, Temiker,” urged Lyra. “Your services are desperately needed elsewhere. Please find him for me. I want my people to know the truth.”

Temiker halted as the Star of Sakova hurried to her office. He frowned as half a dozen people left the dining room before the party had even begun. He slowly started following the group out of the palace. When the people started to split up, Temiker made impromptu decisions on which one to follow. Cats appeared out of the shadows and followed some. Temiker ended up following a Sakovan to the Garden of Hope, one of the gardens that occupied the five points of the star that was StarCity. The mage from Alamar followed the Sakovan into the garden. He slid into the shadows and cast an illusion to conceal himself while the Sakovan sat on one of the benches in the garden.

For half an hour the Sakovan sat silently on the stone bench, his head bowed in prayer. No one came or went during that time, and Temiker realized that he had drawn the wrong person. Finally the Sakovan rose and left the garden. Temiker was about to drop the illusion and return to the party to follow another Sakovan, when another Sakovan entered.

The new Sakovan did not bow in prayer, but rather looked around the garden to see if anyone else was around. With no one else in sight, the Sakovan wove an air tunnel. Temiker listened in rapt fascination as the spy began giving a report about the Sakovan plans. The report was thorough and detailed, and uninterrupted by any reply from the other end. The spy’s head swiveled the entire time, as if expecting to be interrupted at any moment, but no one entered the garden. It was as far from the palace as one could get without leaving StarCity.

Temiker let the spy leave the Garden of Hope, keeping his illusion in place for a full half hour before heading to Lyra’s office. When he got there, he found Lyra still crying, her head resting on her crossed arms, which were placed on the desk. He walked over to her and gently placed his hands on her shoulders.

“I have found what you sent me to look for,” he said softly.

Lyra’s head flew up. Her eyes were swollen with tears, but they sparkled with hope. “Who is it?” she demanded to know.

* * *

HawkShadow and SkyDancer approached the assignment board with anxiety. They walked with their arms wrapped around each other and waited patiently for some other Sakovans to move away from the board so that they could see it. As the crowd thinned, the couple moved forward to peer at the listings.

“Good thing we got up early,” commented SkyDancer. “We are in the first group to get our assignments this morning. We better hurry or we will be late.”

“StormSong and FalconEye are with us,” commented HawkShadow. “I hope we are going to Alamar.”

“I still can’t believe that this is happening,” SkyDancer shook her head. “Who would have thought that we would be aiding Khadora instead of the other way around?”

“It makes sense in a way,” shrugged HawkShadow.

SkyDancer looked strangely at HawkShadow and shook her head. “You were so strong last night about opposing this plan,” she stated. “What has changed?”

“She is the Star,” shrugged HawkShadow. “I really think the plan is wrong, but who am I to think that I have all of the answers? If it was open for discussion, I would argue with Lyra all day and night about it, but she halted that discussion. Now I must follow orders. It is that simple.”

As they entered Lyra’s office they found StormSong and FalconEye already there. MistyTrail and Temiker were also there.

“Close the door please, MistyTrail,” ordered Lyra as she looked up at the four Sakovans before her. “You four are the first group to move out. You are being sent to Alamar.”

HawkShadow could not resist a smile at the words.

“Each of you will have a distinct job to perform,” continued Lyra. “SkyDancer, you are to help Temiker gather the mages together. One dozen will be staying in Alamar to help with healing. The rest will be going to Khadoratung. You and Temiker will accompany the mages that are traveling.”

SkyDancer frowned at the mention of travel to Khadora, but she didn’t know yet what HawkShadow would be doing. She hoped that he would be traveling with her.

“FalconEye,” Lyra continued, “you will be taking a boat from Alamar to Zaramilden. You are to supervise the destruction of the dock area. I want every boat in that harbor sunk and the docks destroyed.”

“For what purpose?” asked FalconEye. “The people will need those things after the war.”

“To deny their use to the enemy,” answered Lyra. “All food supplies are to be removed or destroyed. General Papper will have some men there. You may utilize them to accomplish your goal. The idea is to leave nothing behind that the enemy can use.”

FalconEye nodded, and Lyra turned her attention to HawkShadow.

“HawkShadow,” Lyra ordered, “You are to shut down the port of Alamar after FalconEye leaves. He will be on the last ship to sail out of Alamar. Once he has left the harbor, I want holes drilled in the bottom of every ship left in Alamar. Cork the holes for now so that it appears that ships are sailable, but make sure that they are not.”

“Why?” interrupted HawkShadow.

“Because you are going to make it appear as if Alamar is manned by a large force,” smiled Lyra, “when in fact it will not be. You will have the full resources of General Manitow’s army to help you. I want wooden silhouettes of people on the roofs of buildings. I want hundreds of campfires outside the walls as if there were so many soldiers that the city cannot house them all. I want thousands of uniforms drying on lines at any time. Rotate the clothes so it looks real. In short, I want you to create an illusion. When you have it all in place, you will march with General Manitow’s army to Khadora.”

“To Khadoratung?” asked SkyDancer.

The Star of Sakova ignored SkyDancer’s question and looked at StormSong.

“StormSong,” smiled Lyra, “you also have a trip in your future. When we do evacuate Alamar, our remaining forces are going to move south along the coast road. I want you to start outside of Alamar and set up bonfires every thousand paces. General Manitow will provide some men for the labor. I want a series of bonfires all the way to Okata ready to be lit on a moment’s notice.”

“That will takes months,” frowned StormSong. “I am a warrior, not some group leader of laborers.”

“This task requires a warrior,” countered Lyra. “I think the invaders will try to disrupt the process. In any event, that is your task. MistyTrail and Temiker will be accompanying you to Alamar. You should leave StarCity within fifteen minutes. That is all.”

The group of four left the office and closed the door behind them. When he was sure that they were gone, Temiker spoke softly.

“Four good people in that group,” he sighed. “I cannot imagine what they are thinking right now, but it is a credit to them that they are following your orders. The spirit of Kaltara is strong in them.”

“In three of them at least,” frowned Lyra. “I hope they forgive me.”

“They will,” chirped MistyTrail. “Should I have the next group come in?”

“No,” Lyra shook her head. “That was the only group that matters. I will wait for half an hour after you leave before assembling the Sakovans in the dining room again. I will explain to them the deception that I foisted on them last night and explain the reasoning behind it.”

“Is that wise to announce so soon?” asked Temiker.