“It is hard for me to think of him as being intelligent, he looks so much like a hellish version of a dragoon” Pem said as she shook her head.
“He wouldn’t like it if you said that” Max replied. “He hates dragoons and wants to see their kind erased. The only reason he hasn’t done so is because they are all he has of his people other than the dragon being held hostage”.
“Well I wish you luck on this battle” Pem said as she turned around.
Max stared at the woman’s retreating form and decided to get some sleep. He would awaken whenever it was time to go, he was expected to lead this battle, even though there were griffin riders there that had more experience flying than he had. Max was the overall leader although there were three sub commanders; they would break off with their group and had targets they were expected to hit. Max would be the face of it though and didn’t feel the confidence he had spoken to Duchess Pem with. If Max performed correctly he could be cashing in his ticket to the extreme good life by marrying the most powerful woman probably in the world. If he messed up though, well he didn’t want to think about it. There were still warriors out there better than he was, even though the Queen had him train every day, Max knew warriors like Golden could think on their feet and defeat him. Sleep found Max easily enough and he did not awaken even when Xander came back inside and bedded down himself. Max was finally awakened when the queen herself came to him. Max looked at her and could see the duchess was correct, she had been losing weight.
“I came to help you with your armor” Mary said as she grabbed Max’s tail spike. Max said nothing as he could see how nervous the Queen was but instead let her help him dress. It wasn’t quite dark yet but the horde had been formed up and waiting, Max could see each of them had dressed in heavy clothes to combat the wind. As Max finished Mary handed him her banner, she said nothing but her eyes said much. Max nodded and woke up Xander and made sure the sleepy dragon was ready for this mission. Xander got into position and went promptly back to sleep, even with Max on his back. It was then Mary personally thanked everyone in the horde and checked to make sure everyone had a map, and knew their mission. Max thought her nervousness was really coming through now, she wanted this whole thing to be perfect.
Max and the horde took off with the cover of darkness, during the flight to the clearing they referred to as rest area one, Max found out much about the griffins. The griffins were sprinters, they could cover short distances quicker than Xander and were far more maneuverable due to their smaller size. Despite their quickness they lacked over all speed and didn’t have the altitude Xander could get. Xander at first tried staying with them but realized it was hopeless, the griffins were too slow for a long flight. Max signaled to one of his commanders that he was going ahead and that he would meet them all at rest area one, a place he reached a couple of hours before the first griffin touched down. The sky was still dark thankfully, but Max could see the long flight had the griffins spent. The timeline they had would have to be pushed back somewhat to allow the beasts rest and let them drink from a nearby stream. One of his sub commanders, a man named Gregory who had been a griffin rider longer than the rest as he was on his third griffin agreed with Max and posted sentries. By the time the horde took off again it was mid-morning instead of first light, more people would be out to spot them traveling but it could not be helped. Luckily it was a shorter distance to the Countesses estate, Max let the griffins take off first and left and hour later. Max caught them long before they reached the estate and instead of riding on the high draft currents went down below to take him place at the front of the horde.
Max checked his map and could see the estate was right where Mary said it would be, they arrive well after midday but there was enough light to see the horde descend from the sky. Xander went into a dive as people pointed and shot out flame , bathing the house from front to back door as Max could hear the sound of the iron balls tearing through the roof. By the time Max and Xander turned around the estate was in shambles, the fire had hurt sure, the building was still burning. But fifty griffin riders dropping iron balls at great heights practically tore the place down by itself. Whenever Mary the other twenty griffins Mary had finds riders the destruction they could bring would be enormous. Xander did another pass, this time lighting the estate up lengthwise. Max could see people pouring out of the building screaming as the griffins started tearing livestock apart, trampling on planted fields and making a complete mess. The guards the countess had wisely stayed away, Max could only count five of them and if they did attack they would likely die quickly. Max found the storage area for the grains and other vegetables, Xander’s fire made the place go up like dry kindling and the attack had only be going on for a few moments. Max Had Xander land in front of the estate and grabbed his shield along with the banner and planted it. Just for fun Max roared at the frightened men and women around him, one poor man pissed his pants and fainted before Max decided to draw back his act. Max was just about to call Xander as he felt a familiar feeling, mage fire. This fire was nowhere near as hot or strong as he had felt before, the mage had to be weak in power. Max turned around to find a girl of about 13 pouring all her power into the fire. Max walked through the fire, snatched the girl up by the front of her shirt and lifted her off the ground.
“The true queen crushes her enemies” Max said in a low voice. “I am the champion of the true ruler. Queen Mary has given me leave to crush her enemies like the Countesses, do you want me to count you as one of her enemies?” The girl said nothing but started shaking as Max threw her hard back down to the ground. Max stood there and let the commoners get a good look at him, he had no idea who the Countess was but figured she wasn’t in residence since Max was sure that was her daughter he just tossed. When everything was complete, Xander landed and Max took off followed by the horde. All of his attacks would probably go nowhere near as smooth, but he had accomplished his mission.
“WE CANNOT MAKE IT BACK WITH THE GRIFFINS WITHOUT STOPPING” Xander said in Max’s mind. “THE AREA WE USED BEFORE MAY BE COMPROMISED SINCE WE LEFT LATER THAN USUAL,THERE IS A CITY FAR ENOUGH AWAY FROM THE REST AREA THAT WOULD MEET OUR NEEDS. IT IS SMALL AND IT IS UNLIKELY ANY FORCE FOUND THERE COULD BE MUCH OF AN ISSUE FOR US”.
Max agreed with Xander, the griffins had barely made it from the island to the first stop, in the future they would have to work out a better system but for right now they would stay at this city. Max got the attention of the various men under him and told them to follow him. The going was rough and slow for Xander, the low method of flying was taxing on him and Xander could feel his relief as the city came into view. It had just gotten dark and the group landed right outside the city walls, the men under Max felt relieved at the early break, they could finally get a little rest.
“If we are stopped for the night, we should get some intelligence on what has been happening in the world” Gregory said as Max could tell the man was barely able to keep it together.
“Do it” Max began. “But do not let anyone know your true allegiance just yet. Take a couple of men with you and make sure you have at least one runner to come get me if anything is wrong”.
Gregory nodded as Max watched the man calm considerably as he turned away. Max surveyed the griffins, they were used to this treatment as they all bedded down in neat little rows which made it easy for them to be counted. Max was hungry and he sure the men were too but they would have to wait until they got back. Max couldn’t send them all into town, if a battle or something broke out it would be disastrous. The place they landed in was an okay size for a city, not too big but looked like it maintained all the comforts a traveler would desire. The war must have not been anywhere close to this place, Max had not seen even one guard yet. Sentries were put in place, Max planned to leave at first light which would get them home while it was still light outside where Max could finally rest comfortably. For now though Max would get a little sleep, Xander had already taken the opportunity to close his eyes.
&nb
sp; “Red Warrior” Max heard someone whisper and give his body a shake. Max looked up and stared into the eyes of Carlton who had his spear with him.
“What is it?” Max said in a low voice.
“There are dragoons here, four in fact along with twice as many cavalry” Carlton said as he gestured for his men to get closer. “I recognized the false Queen’s third daughter in one of the upscale inns. She has a contingent of bodyguards with her, what she is doing out here nobody knows but Gregory thinks we should attack. We may never get a chance like this again and she has 15 men to our 50. One of her bodyguards though, they call him the Axe”.
Max was wide awake now, if he could somehow get to this woman kill her or even better kidnap her, it would go a long way to ending this war. The problem was though that the Axe had been spotted, it was safer to just leave, but Max and his men had the numbers and the element of surprise. Max grabbed his sword but left his shield, to Xander he gave directions to stay close in case he needed to leave in a hurry. Getting into the city turned out to be no problem, whatever guards were supposed to be patrolling must have called it a night. Max was led to the inn where Gregory already had almost everything worked out. The dragoons were saddled up along with the horses the noble woman and her guards had brought. After some trouble the small griffin riders were able to lead the animals out of the city. Max thought the dragoons would have come in handy if anyone knew how to make them attack, but in the end it was easier to just take the animals out of the equation. Max and his band of small men moved quietly while they got into position, some were on the roof tops, others had all the exits and windows covered. Max was expected to lead a group of 30 men inside where they would begin the attack. Max took a deep breath and entered the inn.
Max expected a fight to happen right away, instead he was greeted by men passed out on the bottom floor to the stairs. Five of them were there and it almost seemed unfair to kill them but the decision was taken away from him as Gregory plunged his short spear into the first man while the rest finished the job. A scream went up from one man as Max flew up the stairs. A guard sitting in his chair looked startled but didn’t even get up all the way before Max plunged his sword into the man’s chest, filling the air with the smell of burning flesh. Luckily this was only a two story inn, his target could only be in so many places. Max opened up the door the man had been sitting in front of. There were men sleeping in each of the four beds, probably the dragoon riders. Max caught the first man who was still sound asleep in the chest, cut the second man who had gotten up across the chest and backed away as the last two had gotten to their feet and drawn their swords. Max smiled at the men and touched his sword to a bed, the mattress, blanket, sheets in all instantly caught fire as Max did the same to the nest bed closest to him. His opponents must have had just figured out Max’s plan, there was fire beginning to spread and Max was blocking the main exit. The only other way would be to go out the window. Max backed away and closed the door, sure the men would use the window since none of them had on their boots and there was a fire between them and the door. Max was back in the hall now where a couple more men lay dead. The griffin riders, being smaller men had a pretty good fighting style while in a large group. They would toss their spears en masse, unless a foe was heavily armored a single man wouldn’t be able to last through that assault. Unfortunately at the end of the hallway stood a man in black armor carry a big axe, on the side of him was a woman in night clothes who began to use magic, this was a type of wind spell as it was very hard to breathe or even walk forward. Max though had a great idea. Max went back into the blazing room and could see the two men had indeed taken the window, when Max crawled out of it he could see the men had not made it very far as their bodies were below on the ground with blood all around them, victim to spear throws and thrusts. Max used his claws to scale the building and crawl around to where he thought the window to the room his target was staying in would be. Max opened the window, using his claw to undo the latch and crawled inside. The door was open and he could hear the clanking of spears hitting the ground as he stuck out the room. He was behind the man and woman and slowly crept up behind them. Max covered the woman’s mouth with his hand and snatched her backwards and fled back towards the room before the Axe could react. Max was in the room and dove out the open window and used his wings to slow his decent somewhat. An Axe just missed him as he landed, in return he saw his men return fire with spear throws and Max mentally called for Xander who showed up and bathed the entire front of the inn in fire. Max climbed on Xander’s back with the struggling woman, although there was room to land there wasn’t enough to take off so Xander would have to run to the square. When Xander finally did go airborne Max looked down and could see the Axe as the man stopped running and looked up at him. With his vision Max could see the man was angry, Max thought he would be angrier still as the griffin riders were making their way to their mounts. The burning inn would take up the majority of the forces the city had and Max could escape easily.
The woman on Xander though was not cooperative; despite being high up in the air she had attempted two spells and even plunged her dagger into Max’s hand. Luckily his scales blocked the most of it and he was able to snatch the weapon away. The only reason the woman ended up somewhat manageable is when Xander went high up in the freezing currents, it was hard to breathe there for a normal human and she was only wearing a nightgown. The woman cast spell after spell on herself in an attempt to stay warm before she finally just wrapped her arms around Max. Max would head straight back to the isle; the griffins would have to catch up later.
Max reached the isle before midday, many people spotted him flying in and a few griffin riders even gave a halfhearted chase as Xander zeroed in on the island. Xander landed perfectly as Mary was already down by Xander’s landing spot. Max jumped off the dragon holding his hostage by her arm.
“Try anything and I will break it” Max said threateningly as he could see Mary recognized his captive.
“Where did you find her?” Mary asked.
“I had to make a detour your Majesty” Max began. “She was holed up in an inn with a man they call the Axe”.
“You fought the Axe?” Mary asked surprised.
“Not exactly” Max admitted. “I snatched her from under his nose and he couldn’t give chase”.
“And the countess?” Mary asked.
“I did not see her” Max began. “But her estate lies in ruin and I threatened her daughter. They know you are behind the attack although I doubt anyone knows your part in the kidnapping”.
“You mean bitch napping” Mary said as she stared at the captive. “You are not so high and mighty now are you?”
“My mother cares for what is best for this Queendom” the defiant captive replied.
“Your mother is a fool” Queen Mary replied. “She is a fool who will soon regret crossing me”.
CHAPTER 13
Mary had seen success after success conducting Guerilla warfare with the troops at her disposal. She had given up riding into battle on Griffinback but had still practiced with her griffin and thought she was passable. The new tactic she had used, kidnapping enemies had proved to be successful, she had 15 such traitors in her dungeons currently. That number though did not tell the full story; Mary had Max loot and destroy three times as many estates, often unopposed. Mary figured she had the Macomians to thank for that since everyone had greatly under estimated their numbers and their propensity to endure war. The Macomians were dying at a rate of five to one, the problem was that they held at least a ten to one advantage, an advantage that they were using to push the Galean army back despite casualties. Because of the scorched earth tactics, namely as the Galeans retreated deeper into Gale they burned or destroyed anything the enemy would find useful, the Macomians had become desperate. The Macomians were starving from the disruption frequent griffin attacks had on their supplies, so much in fact they had resulted to using a different food source, enemy animals. If they spotted a dra
goon they would simply keep sending bodies until the rider was thrown off and the dragoon succumbed to numerous stab wounds, the meat from the animal was cherished as it could feed a sizable number of people. Despite the fact to kill a dragoon it would cost the enemy almost thirty bodies, they were desperate for the meat and used that desperation to push deeper into Gale. Mary although successful in her attacks would need a place to come back to, if the Macomians gained a sizable foothold, who was to say they wouldn’t over run her little island?
“You called for me your Majesty?” Duchess Pem said as she joined Mary as she poured over a map.
“With Yadia effectively scared to make any type of move outside the capital, it is time for us to take back our country” Mary said as she pointed towards little rocks she had placed on the map to signify Galean troops. “We will find all the military leaders who took part in the coup and offer them clemency, they are to live out the rest of life in the borderlands or die. Their subordinates will be our replacements, after that we will need to get some real work done. How can I break this siege or at least force the Macomians back? From our spies it seems like their army is so desperate they would rather press forward instead of retreating. Winter is only two months away, I couldn’t imagine their army being able to fight in such conditions. Any experienced commander would be using this time to build barracks and other things that would make the winter more bearable since they have seen they cannot use any of our structures”.
“I believe their commanders have been driving them towards this reckless action” Duchess Pem said as she stared at the map. “The enemy has to know they are being used as fodder, what we need to do is figure out a way to strike at their leadership. I am sure General Raisa has tried that before but finding them is harder than it may appear”.
“This city right here, Bufford, are you familiar with it?” Queen Mary asked.
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