The Black wing

Chapter 7

Onyx and Led rolled apart at last and fell into exhausted slumbe'r as the night sky began to lighten. Curled under a fur blanket, Onyx did something she hadn't since waking from the Sleep as a dragon-she dreamed.

She was a dragon again, flying; Led rode upon her back, a sword in his hand. Together they commanded a vast army that cut down foe after faceless foe. Dragon and rider toppled tow shy;ers, chased knights from their castles, and finally stood majes shy;tically before a conquered throng. The vision filled her unconscious mind with a great sense of satisfaction. Smiling in her sleep, Onyx hugged the covers closer and settled in for an agreeably vivid show.

The disguised dragon was almost surprised to awaken to the scent of damp ashes and the feel of a cold, hard boulder for a headrest. She was still a woman, still resting near the fire pit, now extinguished. It had all been just a dream. Not all of it, though, she thought smugly, flexing her stiff muscles at the memory of her night with Led. Still groggy, she kept her eyes tightly closed as if to recapture the fantasy. Neither sleep nor the dream returned.

Strange, Onyx thought, that this should be my first dream since waking from the magical Sleep. She began to wonder if the word "dream" was correct for what she'd experienced. Another thought came to mind, a possibility both frightening and fascinating.

Could it have been a vision of the future from Takhisis? Her geetna had predicted she would do great service for the queen. Perhaps it had been fate, not accident, that the nyphids awak shy;ened her and directed her toward Led. Was it Takhisis's wish that Onyx and Led fight as one for her glory? She paused. Where was Led, anyway?

Onyx rolled up onto her elbow, and her fur blanket slipped away. She felt her first twinge of modesty as she remembered she was unclothed. Cinching the fur up tightly under her armpits, the young woman discovered with dismay that she, alone, still lay close to the fire pit. She heard mingled sounds of activity and sat up to investigate.

Onyx's acute hearing detected splashing water. Following the noise through the snow-covered branches of the pine trees, Onyx saw Led in the distance, bobbing in the chill mountain stream, slapping water on his bare chest. The sight brought a blush to her cheeks and a smile to her lips.

Hearing orders being barked in the opposite direction, Onyx's gaze fell next on Yoshiki Toba. He was at the other end of the oblong clearing, running the ogres through a routine drill in hand-to-hand and weapons combat. They wore no armor, but many had round wooden bucklers strapped to their thick arms. Spiked clubs and crudely made spears appeared to be their weapons of choice.

If Led was bathing in the stream, and Toba was engaged in morning drill, then who was watching-Onyx's gaze shot to the left. The wagon was parked out of the way, far back in the trees between the fire pit and the lanky lieutenant. There was no guard in sight.

Onyx sprang to her feet, yanked on her cotton batting, and tugged up her leather boots. Forcing herself to stroll, she cir shy;cled the wagon. She had seen Toba leave the ogre's fire pit with a plate of food last night, headed for the rear of the wagon. Onyx hastened to the back and searched the flat wooden panel from top to bottom with her hands, but found no latch or crack to suggest an opening.

Onyx chewed her lip, thinking. There were only two sides she hadn't examined. The top of the wagon would be risky, since she would be in clear view up there. Dropping to her knees, she ducked under the frame. But the box hung so low to the ground that she had to turn onto her back and kick her feet into the dirt to push herself beneath it. The wagon was sup shy;ported by thick metal straps and the two axles that stretched between the wheels.

Near the middle of the wagon was a small trapdoor, held shut by a dead bolt. Onyx carefully slid the bolt aside, then grabbed at the wooden door before it could swing down and bang into the metal strap.

Still on her back, Onyx gripped the edge of the wooden slot and pulled her head and shoulders toward the opening. It was so narrow that her face scraped the side when she managed at last to poke her head into the bottom of the wagon. Onyx peered around, calling on her dragon sight in the lightlessness. There, huddled in a corner, was a small heap covered by a dirty fur.

"Dela?" Onyx whispered.

The lump shifted slightly at the sound. The fur began to slip. Onyx caught a glimpse of disheveled blond hair. Her heart hammered in expectation.

Something grabbed Onyx by the feet. Her jawbone slammed into the rough opening as the hands around her boots labored to haul her from under the wagon. After three jarring tugs, her bruised face cleared the hole. The hands tugged again, and the back of Onyx's head dropped painfully onto the hard, frozen ground. She scrabbled and clawed to escape, but all she man shy;aged was to roll onto her front, so that she was pulled from beneath the wagon on her face. A blade-tipped boot kicked her in the side, rolling her onto her back again. Onyx looked up the legs that formed an inverted Y above her.

"Lose something, Onyx?" Yoshiki Toba's breath ringed his head as white steam. "If thaf s even your name." He snugged his feet closer to her sides, trapping her.

Onyx looked up at Toba's yellow-skinned face, speechless. Almost seeing Dela, Toba catching her spying-it had hap shy;pened so fast she could scarcely think of what to say, how to explain away her presence under the wagon. She saw the anger in his eyes and knew there would be no fooling the watchful overlord.

"Got nothin' to say?" Toba chuckled. "I knew from the start there was something strange about you. Led's always had a soft spot in his melon for pretty women." He grabbed Onyx by the left arm and nearly tugged it from the socket. "Maybe you'll find your voice in time to explain to your paramour what you were doing under there."

Led! He'd throw her out of his band for sure. Then it would be impossible to free Dela in her human form. And what about her dream? She had to silence Toba before he told their leader. She had no weapons, nothing on but her batting and boots. She searched her mind for a spell that would kill him instantly, without a trace, but her magical skills simply weren't that developed yet. If she were a dragon, she could call on her breath weapon___

Holding Onyx's arm tightly with one hand, Toba bent down and reached under the wagon. He fumbled until he found the trap door, then shut and bolted it. He straightened and glared at her with sinister eyes.

"Stand," he ordered. When she refused to plant her feet or lock her knees, he kicked her viciously in the legs.

Onyx felt herself start to panic. Then, quite suddenly, some shy;thing burned the skin of her neck, and she cried aloud. The maynus. Pulling the choker by the vine with her free hand, she settled the tiny swords and globe atop her purple tunic. The maynus scorched her even through the cloth. It was the bril shy;liant blue-white of the hottest fire. Onyx had never seen the source of Dela's magic do that before. The faces in the light shy;ning bolts flashed through Onyx's mind. She heard Kadagan's voice from months ago: "We commanded it to lift thee."

She touched a hand to the scalding maynus. "Take him, and leave no trace/' she whispered, not sure what to expect.

"Hey, what-?" Toba's muttered question was cut off when a white-hot bolt of lightning leaped from the globe. It snapped around his trunk like a lasso, pinning his arms to his sides. The wiry man's eyes went wide and fearful. He was too startled to scream at first. He wasn't given the chance later.

Toba's prominent cheekbones twisted and contorted, and his whole body seemed to melt into colorful, swirling vapor. Crackling, the branch of lightning pulled him toward its source, the globe at Onyx's collarbone. The churning mass that Toba had become withdrew into the maynus with a hollow sucking sound.

Stunned, Onyx peered down her chin to the globe. It had cooled to pale blue. Lightning bolts again danced and rico shy;cheted within. To her further amazement, she thought she could see the vague outline of Toba's face pressing against the glass from the inside. Had she killed the human, Onyx won shy;dered, or just trapped him in the magical globe? Either way, he couldn't talk to Led now. Onyx frowned. At least she didn't think he could communicate from inside the globe. She knew so little about the nyphids' artifact.

Rustling from inside the wagon brought Onyx's attention back to Dela. She could free the nyphid now. Dela would know what to do with Toba, too. Onyx dropped to her knees again and flipped onto her back to scoot beneath the wagon.

"Yoshiki Toba, you miserable scut, why have you left the ogres lumbering like aimless zombies in the clearing?" Led called from the stream, his voice bright with humor. "You'd better be making my breakfast. Onyx, are you awake yet?"

Half under the wagon, Onyx froze with indecision. She was so close to freeing Dela. Yet, if she didn't answer Led and he found her here, she'd be in the same spot she'd been with Toba. Only, strangely, she didn't want to kill Led, or even draw him into the globe. The dream was too insistent, its promise of glory too fresh in her mind.

Onyx clambered from under the wagon. Brushing vainly at her muddy clothing, she strode purposefully along the right side of the cart and back to the fire pit.

Led emerged from the trees on the beaten snowy path that came from the stream. Scrubbing his wet hair with a nubby cloth, he was still bare to the waist, his skin red with cold. See shy;ing Onyx, he smiled in warm greeting. "There you are." He let the cloth drop to his shoulders. "Good morning."

"And to you," she said, forcing a wan smile in return.

He peered at her curiously. "You're a mess. And your face is all scratched up. What have you been doing?"

Onyx hitched up her pants and managed a meaningful, blushing look over her shoulder to the woods behind the wagon. "I was … well, I unfortunately chose a very muddy patch. A branch snapped out, and, uh, you know___"

Led nodded slowly. He frowned and looked about. "Where's Toba?"

Onyx shrugged, unconsciously tucking the silent, still-blue maynus back beneath the neckline of her tunic. If Toba was in there, he wasn't talking.

Led swore under his breath. "He knows we're in a hurry to get to Kernen."

"Maybe he's occupied as I was," Onyx suggested, looking to the woods.

"Could be," said Led a bit dubiously. He kicked the ashes to life in the fire pit, adding a handful of twigs to the smoldering pile. "If I have to fix my own grub because of it, he'll pay the price. Say, you're a woman. Don't you know how to cook?"

"Uh, no. I've never had to, actually."

"You probably just magic it up." Led sat on a boulder, pulled off his boots, and held his toes to the fire. "Nothing like a bath in a fresh mountain stream. Leaves you with cold feet, though."

Led shrugged on a tunic over his damp, curling hair. He glanced with disdain at the ogres across the clearing. "Wish I could get them to bathe once in a while. They think if 11 make 'em sick."

The human's head snapped around toward the forest. "Toba! Where in the Abyss are you, man?"

After a few moments of awkward silence, Onyx sat on the boulder next to his and reached toward Led's own pack. "I'm starving. Do you have any more of that jerky?"

"Yeah, sure," Led said. He plunged his hand into the leather sack and retrieved a strip of the blackened meat, as well as a wineskin. He offered both to Onyx. "If s not breakfast, but if s better than nothing."

Onyx took the wineskin and drank greedily. "Thaf s it," snarled Led abruptly, slapping his knees. "I'm gonna take a look around for Toba's bony yellow hide." He pulled his leather armor from his horse and strapped it on, adding stiff leather cuisses to his thighs. Next, he gingerly slipped a chain mail coif over his head and adjusted it into position. Over that he placed a massive metal helm that dropped to his shoulders in the back, and came low over his brow and swept in from the sides to cover both cheeks. Last, he strapped his girdle around the chain mail at his waist and settled his sword so that the hilt was within easy reach.

Onyx gulped wine nervously as she watched him dress. She tried to slow her breathing to calm herself in the qhen way, but couldn't seem to focus as completely in her human form as she had as a dragon. Her breathing remained shallow, her pulse racing. Led walked the perimeter of the clearing, calling Toba's name into the trees. The human stopped and spoke to a green-skinned ogre who sat idly with the others where Toba had left them.

Onyx looked wide-eyed into Led's stormy face when he returned to the fire. "No luck?"

"It's just not like Toba to disappear for this long without telling me what he's up to. The ogres say they saw him head shy;ing this way. Didn't you see him?"

"No. I was probably still sleeping. Maybe he went out look shy;ing for food and wandered farther than he thought." "Doubtful. He knows we have enough stores to last…" Onyx idly traced a seam in her boot, unable to look Led in the eye. "Could he simply have run off?"

Led scratched his head. "I can't see it. He knew how much we stand to gain when we deliver the wagon. No, Toba's too greedy to just up and abandon his share."

Onyx took a long pull on the wineskin. "The fact remains that he's gone. How long are you willing to wait for him?"

"That depends." Led rubbed his chin. "Say, do you know some kind of spell that can find a missing person?"

Onyx stopped in midgulp, the crimson liquid splashing her lips. She handed him the skin and wiped her mouth on the cuff of her batting. "Yes," she lied. "I don't have all the things I need to cast the enchantment, though. But I can probably find the right kinds of roots and funguses in the woods. I'll go into the forest and give it a try."

Led watched her finger the odd choker. "Whatever. Just be careful. We don't know what happened to him, so keep your eyes open. In fact, maybe I should come along, too."

"No," snapped Onyx. "I can concentrate better if I'm alone. I can protect myself, if you're worried. I know magic, remem shy;ber? Besides, someone needs to watch the ogres."

Led couldn't argue with that logic. He helped Onyx put on her brigandine armor. Pulling her horse around by the bit, Onyx put her left toe in the stirrup and swung her other leg over, then set the horse's head downhill.

Led tossed the wineskin to her. Sunlight streaked across his brilliant green eyes, and he snarled with annoyance. "With or without Toba, we've got to get back on the trail quickly. Come back as soon as you know anything."

Nodding, Onyx slipped the strap of the skin over her head and shoulder, then dug her heels into the black mare's ribs. They shot off down the rough-cut trail at a gallop. Onyx gave the horse its head. It stayed with the narrow trail that paral shy;leled the same stream by the clearing.

Khisanth was grateful the lie had succeeded. She didn't use components to cast spells, but she was desperate to get away and think. She seemed unable to control her own actions as a human, particularly with Led's penetrating eyes on her. What had happened to her qhen training? Though it was causing her no end of problems now, she was not sorry she had-well, done whatever she'd done to Toba. It had been rash, definitely not qhen, but even Kadagan would have agreed that she'd had no choice.

The problem was what to tell Led that would make him abandon his lieutenant? Worse still, now that she was almost certain Dela was in the wagon, how was she going to free the captive nyphid? That was the point of this whole foray as a human, after all. She seemed to have lost sight of that goal recently, along with her qhen training.

Onyx closed her eyes for a moment and pressed her hands to her temples, as if the posture would silence the barrage of questions. If only she could reason now as clearly as she'd done as a dragon. Her eyes popped open. Why not? Onyx felt an overwhelming longing to assume her dragon form. Then she could think the problem through without the distractions of human emotions. It would calm her to feel like herself again, even for a moment. To not have to concentrate on every gesture or word. To be herself. The more she considered it, the better the idea sounded. But did she dare?

Onyx cast a glance over her shoulder. She was some dis shy;tance from the clearing where Led and the ogres waited. She concentrated to drown out the noise of the babbling stream. Beyond it, she heard only chirping birds and other forest sounds. No one had followed her.

Onyx looked up the trail, then back over her shoulder again. Nothing in either direction. Just to be safe, she prompted the mare to continue at a canter uphill for a short time, putting a little more distance between herself and possible discovery. Tugging the mare's head to the right just after a tall boulder, she quickly dismounted, looping the mare's reins through the branches of a young tree.

Onyx stepped away from the horse and into the protection of the enveloping pines. She pulled off her armor and clothing and stuffed them into the leather bag that had hung behind the saddle. Reluctantly she untied the thong holding the swords and the maynus; if she left it on during the transformation, the choker might well live up to its name before she could enlarge it with sorcery. Looking closely at the maynus once more, she was convinced anew that Toba, or at least some part of him, was trapped inside. Deciding she could do nothing about him right now, she added the whole necklace to the bag.

Onyx was joyful at the thought of doing something so reck shy;less; every minute as a human was an exercise in self-contain shy;ment. The woman's slanted, tawny eyes closed. When she opened them again, she was a black dragon.

Immediately she felt a stab of pain. Hunger. The little strip of jerky may have filled her tiny human belly, but it wasn't even a mouse to a dragon's enormous stomach. She hadn't feasted recently enough to satisfy her voracious appetite, and it was demanding something big.

Khisanth's dragon senses pricked up. Beyond her protective hedge of pines, she heard the mare wicker softly. Slaver rose in her mouth. Her heavy dragon body answered the call. She felt almost as if she watched herself lumber through the trees, crushing shrubs beneath her enormous feet. Blood pounded in her head, narrowing her field of vision until all she saw was the black mare ahead. The horse's eyes widened with terror when it spotted the dragon crashing through the underbrush. It leaped up and pawed at the air, straining at the reins that bound it to the tree.

The mare's wails were high-pitched and steady. Afraid of the attention the noise would surely draw, the black dragon swung her tail around in a vicious slap aimed at the mare's head. The strike snapped the horse's neck, silencing the beast in midscream. The creature dropped lifeless to the ground. Khisanth's jaws opened wide. She closed her sharp teeth around the mare and lifted it high, joyously shaking it.

Khisanth abruptly spat out the mangled corpse. Something about it tasted wrong, bitter. She espied the leather saddle and bridle. Snatching at them with a claw, she flung the offending morsels far into the woods. Then she returned her attention to the dripping horseflesh. Ravenous, exhilarated by the kill, the dragon sank her pointed teeth into the corpse. Tearing with abandon, she stopped only to gulp down whole chunks.

When the pounding in Khisanth's head began to slow, there was little left of the mare except teeth and hooves. She'd crunched through the bones for the moist, delicately flavored marrow.

Swallowing the last knuckle joint, Khisanth fell into a sated languor, listening to her own mind. It was thankfully clear of the emotions that had confused her decisions as a human. She felt powerful again, in control. That was very good. But to her surprise, she also felt unpleasantly cumbersome. She missed the spriteliness, the freedom afforded her by her human form. Heaviest of all, now, were her eyelids. The dragon wanted nothing so desperately as a nap. Into her drowsy brain came a vision of her last sleep, and Led. She was instantly alert. Sigh shy;ing, she pressed herself to remember the purpose for changing back into her dragon form-to think clearly about a lie to dis shy;guise Toba's disappearance.

What would she tell him? Did it matter? Led was intriguing, but still merely a human. Yet she could not deny that she felt some sort of attraction for this man, that she had begun to appreciate aspects of her own facade of humanity because of him. Now, in her dragon form, she found it much easier to consider him objectively.

Once Khisanth reached her decision, she willed herself back into the form of Onyx, then located the saddlebag in the woods, retrieved her clothing, and dressed. The young woman envisioned the campsite near the pool and narrow clearing, and called upon her sorcerous abilities. Within the time it took to blink once, she was standing some ten feet from Led. Star shy;tled, the mercenary drew his sword. He relaxed only slightly when he recognized Onyx.

"Where's your horse?"

"She, uh, stumbled in a hole and threw me, then ran off. I couldn't stop her."

Led looked at her closely for a moment longer. Licking the end of his thumb, he dabbed at a crusted, brown spot in the corner of her mouth. "Found something to eat, did you?"

She pushed his hand away to wipe at the spot herself. "I couldn't find any sign of Toba."

A muscle jerked in the hollow under Led's left cheekbone.

"This just isn't like Toba. I checked the wagon, and there's no sign that he attended to, uh, its contents yet today."

Once again Led peered intently toward the tree line, speak shy;ing to himself. "I can't believe Toba would just up and leave. He's been with me for three years. There's something very odd about this." He ran his fingers through his hair in exaspera shy;tion. "I can't waste any more time searching for him. I'll tell you this, though. If he does show up again, he'd better have a damned good story to tell or he'll never work for me again."

Led pulled the wagon back onto the trail and checked the traces. At his signal, an ogre stepped up onto the wagon. The vehicle's front end settled and groaned noticeably under the massive bulk. The ogre fumbled with the reins, and Led eyed the doltish soldier dubiously.

"There's nothing to be done about it, I suppose," he said stiffly. "Lef s get a move on."

He blew shrilly between two fingers. Onyx took her place to the right of the wagon. The ogres collected up their weapons and filed to their usual positions behind. Without morning food except wine for himself, Led doled out traveling rations to the groggy, grumbling soldiers, climbed aboard his horse, and herded his troops onward toward Needle Pass.

Led's foul mood allowed for little conversation as they wound their way up the mountains. The rocky trail, if the nar shy;row passage they followed through the trees could be called that, became slippery with snow the higher they rose.

By midday they came at last to Needle Pass. The horses pulling the wagon were showing signs of exhaustion, espe shy;cially with the added weight of the ogre driver. Led called a halt, hoping to rest and eat at a point just beyond the gap in the mountains, a spot where the trail widened to a width of two wagons. The ogres spread out and pulled chunks of meat and coarse, molding bread from the depths of their packs. Led again offered Onyx a few strips of jerky. She wasn't hungry and gave her share back to him.

Except for the slurping and grunting of the ogres, the party ate in silence. Stone walls worn smooth by the wind rose to either side of the pass; Onyx considered the high, rocky cliffs curiously. If she were fighting as a dragon, those towering, stony ledges would be a perfect perch from which to swoop down onto an unsuspecting enemy.

Led suddenly cocked his head to the side. "Did you hear something?"

"You mean that tinkling, like bells, from back the way we came?" Onyx asked. "I've been hearing it for some time."

Led shot her an angry glance. "Why didn't you say some shy;thing? Can you tell what it is?" he added, before Onyx could reply to the first question.

"It sounds like a group of horsemen coming this way, and they're making no effort to be quiet."

Led set down his food and moved back up the slope fifty or sixty yards, to where the trail crested the pass. He stayed close to the rock walls, taking pains not to silhouette himself against the sky. After several moments, he trotted back to where Onyx and the ogres waited.

"If s what I thought," he said, "a squad of Solamnic Knights in full panoply riding up the trail. They've got banners flap shy;ping and bells ringing. It's a wonder they don't send a herald on ahead to announce that they're coming." He shook his head, snickering. "Thaf s the knights for you, all pomp and honor and stupidity masked as chivalry. I wish I could hide the wagon from them, but there isn't time. We'll have to make do."

Tapping three ogres, Led told them, "Stay with me. The rest of you, up into the rocks. You know the drill. Be ready for my signal, just in case. Be quick. There's one knight riding point- I don't want him to see anything unusual."

Twelve ogres clambered up tike rocky cliffs on both sides of the trail. Onyx was surprised at how quickly and completely the bulky creatures blended into the cover. To her further sur shy;prise, Led calmly resumed his lunch. He patted the rock next to him.

"Are you going to attack them?" Onyx asked.

"If necessary. Now sit down." Remembering rule number two, Onyx complied wordlessly.

Led had managed to down four hearty swigs of wine and put on a mask of innocent surprise by the time the jingling rang clear. A snapping blue banner emblazoned with a red rose appeared on the western edge of the pass. Slowly it topped the crest, fluttering on the end of a lance, followed by a crested helmet and finally the rest of a knight riding a horse draped in yellow. Through his open visor, Onyx could see that he was very young, his wispy blond mustache almost invisible against his pale upper lip. The knight spied the couple, accom shy;panied by three ogres, eating lunch on the rock. He rode straight toward them with no hesitation, but stopped the length of three horses short of them. The knight sat in stony silence and waited without looking at Onyx and Led.

The jingling of bells, clanking of weapons and armor, and clattering of hooves on frozen ground reverberated back and forth between the rock walls. Onyx spied eight more banners snapping in the chill wind. The knights on horseback beneath the banners topped the crest and proceeded down toward their point rider.

As the main group met up with the waiting knight, he jogged his horse backward to move behind the man at the fore of this larger procession. There could be no question about who led this group. The knight now in front wore a blue-and-red tunic over his armor. The visor of his helmet was also raised, revealing a deeply weathered face and a tremendous, drooping, snow-white mustache.

With a raised arm the commander of the knights brought them all to a halt. He sat still in his high saddle, surveying Led's party. With frank distaste, he stared at the ogres.

Led took the opportunity to lean close to Onyx and whisper, "Thankfully, Knights of Solamnia are completely predictable. Take your lead from me."

The commander spurred his horse several steps closer to Led. There was no welcome in his face. "I am Sir Harald Stip shy;pling. Part of my charge is safeguarding this road. Who are you? State your business."

Led calmly tore off a piece of jerky. "They call me Led-just Led. I'm a law-abiding trader carrying valuable cargo from Styx to Kernen." He appeared to be struck with an idea. "Say, I've heard rumors that there are bandits on the road. Perhaps we could travel together and you could protect my shipment. Isn't that your job?"

The knighf s eyes narrowed with disbelief. "What law-abid shy;ing trader would hire such guards as these ogres?"

"Here in the wilds, I'm at the mercy of what is available for hire. Ogres are plentiful and easily replaced."

"What are you transporting that needs such protection?"

"The wagon contains merchandise of value to me."

"We shall see," muttered Sir Harald. He waved his arm again. "Hugo, Tammerly, inspect the wagon." As Stippling spoke, two knights spurred their horses forward amid a jin shy;gling of bells and approached the wagon.

In response, Led waved his arm as well. The three ogres on the trail sprang to their feet, interposing themselves between the knights and the wagon.

Led slid off the rock and stood, hand on sword hilt. "Whaf s in that wagon is the business of the man who owns it, nobody else." Heart pumping with excitement, Onyx got to her feet and called an incantation to mind.

Leaning forward angrily in his saddle, Stippling sputtered, "This may be the frontier, but Knights of Solamnia are still the law. As the highest ranking knight here, I demand that you open the wagon." His expression stormy, Stippling drew his blade and waved it in a whistling circle above his head. The remaining six knights moved to surround the wagon, the ogres, Led, and Onyx. The two called Hugo and Tammerly drew their swords on the ogres in an obvious challenge.

The air in the narrow pass thrummed with a strained silence as both sides considered how far they would go to win the standoff.