An old man sat behind a desk, his long snow-white hair flowing down around his shoulders. A large hawkish nose in the center of the man’s narrow face always reminded the boy of the birds he cared for, and the boy smiled as he slid to a halt before the desk.
“Ah, Jostin,” the old man smiled, “you bring me news from afar?”
“From HawkShadow, RavenWing,” the boy gasped handing the capsule to the leader of the Sakovans.
“Well, well ,well,” smiled RavenWing. “Let’s see what HawkShadow has to report.”
RavenWing opened the capsule and pulled out the note. He quickly scanned the message and handed the empty capsule back to Jostin. “Tell StarWind to see me as soon as she is free, Jostin. There is no need for a reply to HawkShadow so see to his bird and then release it.”
“I will see to it, RavenWing,” Jostin nodded as he turned and left.
RavenWing rose and walked to a wall map, which depicted the Sakova and the surrounding lands. He reread the note again and scanned the map to see where HawkShadow was having trouble. The note bothered RavenWing for a number of reasons and his brow creased in thought. He was not sure how long he stood at the map considering HawkShadow’s note when he heard a knock on his door.
“Enter,” RavenWing called out.
A young muscular woman with wavy brown hair and a perpetual smile on her face walked in. “You wished to see me?” StarWind asked.
“Yes I did,” confirmed RavenWing. “Come to the map and I will explain.”
“Are you familiar with this area of the Sakova?” RavenWing inquired as he pointed to the area that HawkShadow mentioned in the note.
StarWind’s green eyes narrowed to the area of the map that RavenWing pointed to. “It is a border area of the Sakova, but yes I am familiar with it. We had a training session out there just three months ago. Have we had an incursion?”
“We have indeed,” frowned RavenWing as he returned to his desk and waved StarWind over to it. “Please sit down.”
“You are bothered by this incursion,” StarWind surmised. “We have had others in that area over the years. Why does this one bother you?”
“I received a note from HawkShadow,” RavenWing explained. “He has never asked for help with an incursion before and that causes me to think it is more serious than his note states.”
“Perhaps he has another incursion elsewhere that requires his attention,” StarWind suggested. “He does cover a large area.”
“No, that is not the case,” RavenWing continued. “There have been three incursions and he has MistyTrail with him this time. The first incursion was a group of three youngsters and MistyTrail was sent to handle them.”
“Youngsters?” quizzed StarWind. “We don’t get many of those. MistyTrail might not be a good choice to deal with that group. She may try to divert them away from the Sakova. We have learned our lesson with that approach, but MistyTrail has a very soft heart.”
“I know a portion of your work involves monitoring those who were turned back in the past, so I value your judgement in that area, but HawkShadow had no choice in the matter. There was another incursion of twenty men that he had to handle.”
“Twenty?” StarWind asked, clearly astonished. “That is more men than we had in all of the last five years. I thought spreading tales of the horrors that await visitors to the Sakova had been working. We were getting less and less visitors each year.”
“These men were not concerned with where they were going, StarWind. They were tracking the three youngsters. HawkShadow dispatched them quickly enough and in the process he found out that they were professional assassins. He found this news particularly disturbing.”
StarWind was clearly shocked. “Assassins! Twenty of them? Something very strange is happening in Omunga then. Is HawkShadow sure they were after the Youngsters and not heading here? I mean twenty assassins for three youngsters is a bit of overkill.
“Not as much overkill as the second group of twenty assassins,” RavenWing stated, his brow assuming a permanent crease. “That is why HawkShadow asked for help. He feels the second group will be especially leery after finding out that the first group has been killed.”
“He is wise to ask for help,” StarWind agreed while shaking her head. “What is so special about these youngsters? Forty professional assassins cost someone a fortune.”
“I don’t know,” RavenWing conceded, “but I want to know. I want you to organize a group to support HawkShadow. He wants you there within three days so your time is short, but not critical. Pick the best, StarWind. I trust your decision in this. Let me know who you want and pull them off whatever they are working on. Twenty assassins who are expecting to be attacked will be very worthy opponents. I am not sure how HawkShadow dispatched the first group, but I am willing to bet that they were not expecting trouble. The second group will be.”
StarWind did not hesitate in her choice of companions. “StormSong, SkyDancer and Goral ought to do,” she stated. “That should give us the advantage over twenty assassins.”
“Wise choices,” RavenWing confirmed. “You can take more if you wish. I would prefer no casualties.”
“The assassins may be well-trained killers, but they are in our world now, RavenWing,” StarWind smiled. “I will not need more.”
“Well enough then,” RavenWing acquiesced. “There is one more caveat, StarWind. HawkShadow will want to kill the youngsters. MistyTrail, as you surmised, will want to divert them.” RavenWing smiled as StarWind nodded. “I, however, want them brought back here.”
StarWind’s green eyes widened and her mouth gaped open. “Here?” She queried in confusion. “You can’t mean to bring them here. That is a terrible breach of security, RavenWing. I don’t need to tell you the problems with bringing out-worlders here.”
“No you don’t,” RavenWing agreed. “I understand the risks involved and our security will not be compromised. I need to find out why someone wants them so badly to send forty professional assassins into the Sakova to get them. I feel as though the answer may mean much to the Sakovan people.”
“I can find out that information for you,” offered StarWind. “I have operatives all over Omunga. I will personally go out and ply my trade to get you the answer.”
“Your skill as a spy is well known, StarWind, but I would trust the information from the youngsters themselves over tales told to you or your operatives by others. Still, I would like your people to inquire about them as well.”
“I agree that first-hand knowledge is better, but in this case it is also riskier,” StarWind argued. “You said you could guarantee that our security is not breached by this effort. How can you promise that?”
“Simply,” RavenWing stated. “The youngsters will never leave here alive.”
“That works,” StarWind agreed unhappily. “I will see to organizing the effort to aid HawkShadow. I expect to be leaving at first light, so if there is any further information, please contact me before then.”
RavenWing nodded as StarWind let herself out. StarWind was bothered by the need to kill the youngsters. While she did not admit it to RavenWing, she had hoped that MistyTrail would be successful in diverting them. She well understood the need for all trespassers found in Sakova to be killed. For centuries the Omungans had searched for the Sakovan stronghold to wipe them out and the Sakovans had only survived by secrecy, secrecy maintained by killing anyone who managed to enter Sakova. That usually meant Omungan spies though, not children. For generations the Sakovans had actively spread horror tales to the Omugan population and the policy had worked so well, that the only people who entered Sakova anymore were spies for Omunga. Normally that amounted to four or five a year.
StarWind headed for the exercise yard where she knew StormSong would be, where she could always be found. StarWind smiled as she thought of asking StormSong if she wanted a cot brought to the exercise yard so she wouldn’t have to leave.
StarWind rounded the corner and saw StormSong battling with SkyDa
ncer in the exercise yard. Good timing, she thought. Now she wouldn’t have to hunt down SkyDancer. StarWind leaned on the fence that surrounded the yard and watched the spar. What a contrast the two women made fighting each other, she thought. StormSong was tall and thin, with a pale white face surrounded by long jet-black hair, while SkyDancer’s tan complexion was encased in a halo of bright blond hair and her build was fuller. Their styles of fighting were as different as the women, StormSong always aggressive trying to overpower her opponent with smashing blows and forcing her adversary to back away, while SkyDancer played a defensive game, luring her opponent into overextending and then taking advantage of it. It was an exciting spar to watch. StormSong using her power and SkyDancer her swiftness.
StarWind climbed onto the fence rail and sat to watch the match, her mind sorting and cataloging the pieces of her conversation with RavenWing. She thought about the area of the Sakova that they would be operating in and mentally retrieved landscape anomalies that might come in handy in dealing with the assassins.
She was deep in thought when she felt a presence behind her and swiveled to see who it was. She smiled when she the massive hulk of Goral standing behind her, and massive was the word that came to her mind whenever she thought of him. Goral stood a full head taller than any man she had ever seen and his body was wide with muscle. His bald head, with only a horseshoe fringe of hair, and thick eyebrows gave him a menacing appearance, but StarWind knew him as someone she could trust her life with. His strength and endurance were legendary in the Sakovan camp, yet he was swift and silent. A paradox of a man, Goral could lift two men at the same time, one in each fist, and yet hold a lamb so gently it would fall asleep while he carried it.
“Tayo Goral,” StarWind smiled. “We have a trip to go on tomorrow. I will brief the three of you as soon as SkyDancer and StormSong finish their spar.”
Goral merely smiled and nodded, turning his attention to the fight within the yard. Goral seldom spoke unless he had something to say. This caused people to think the giant was mentally slow or dim-witted. Fools who thought this and tried to take advantage of Goral always ended up getting hurt. StarWind sometimes took Goral into the Omungan cities with her when she went spying. He served several purposes on these trips. He was such a large man that StarWind became invisible as people’s attention naturally focused on the giant. This allowed her to accomplish tasks without drawing attention to herself. Sometimes people mistook him for dim-witted and mistakenly said things within his earshot that should not have been said. In all cases, StarWind was always glad to have Goral to call on if things got nasty and they had to leave quickly.
Applause rang out and StarWind turned to find the match over. Both Sakovans were still standing which meant the match had lasted a full hour and was therefore a draw. The contestants were panting and sweat soaked, but both of them were grinning widely. StarWind signaled for them to approach and told them to get cleaned up and meet her and Goral in the Garden of Strength.
The Sakova stronghold was a broad valley nestled in the midst of three large mountain peaks with only one entrance, a tunnel through one of the mountains. The majority of the tunnel was natural, believed to have been a vent for the volcano that used to exist here. The stories say that the great volcano, which had been the highest mountain in the world, blew itself apart during an eruption. The three mountain peaks existing today were merely jagged remains of the volcano’s crater. The stronghold had been discovered centuries before the invasion of the Omungans and had become the sanctuary of the Sakovans when their agrarian society had been crushed by the invaders. The Sakovan nation had existed only here since that time. The tunnel was widened to allow the movement of wagons through the mountain, but the exit still appeared as a cave entrance which Sakovan magic has kept hidden.
The Sakovans built a city within the stronghold and called it StarCity after the five-pointed star, symbol of the Sakovans. The layout of the city was star shaped with a garden at each of the star’s points. The gardens were named, Joy, Hope, Peace, Valor, and Strength, the five rallying emotions of the Sakovan People. StarWind had chosen the Garden of Strength for it was that quality which was required by the present crisis.
Goral sat quietly watching ducks in the pond while StarWind completed a list of provisions they would need to requisition. StormSong and SkyDancer appeared looking refreshed and StarWind detailed her conversation with RavenWing for them.
“I do not believe this,” thundered StormSong. “Outlanders are not allowed in the Sakova. The laws are clear on this. And bringing them here to the stronghold is ludicrous. Has RavenWing lost his mind?”
StarWind smiled as she congratulated StormSong’s mentor on the apt naming of her student. StormSong’s conversations were more like outbursts than statements. “I can assure you that RavenWing is sound of mind,” StarWind stated. “He feels that there is knowledge to be gained with this aberration of custom that is worth the risk of bringing the youngsters here. Need I remind you that our security is not threatened if the youngsters never leave the stronghold?”
“We have not survived here for centuries by taking such risks lightly,” StormSong retorted. “I think we should have a hearing on this.”
“You have a right to demand a hearing,” StarWind soothed, “but not until we return with the youngsters.”
“That will be too late,” StormSong returned. “The damage will have already been done.”
“Storm,” interjected SkyDancer with her usual soft and meek voice, “there is no violation of law until we return with the youngsters, and when we do, it will be we who have violated the law.”
StormSong’s pale face flushed crimson. “But we are being ordered to break the law,” she shouted. “I will not be ordered to do such a thing. We should kill them all and be done with it.”
“I have been chosen as leader of this expedition,” declared StarWind, “and as such, I, and I alone, will be responsible for any violations of the law. RavenWing did not order me to bring the youngsters back, he merely told me what he wanted and why. I am aware of the security risks and I accept the responsibility for my own actions. Just do not kill the youngsters without my authorization. You may demand a hearing on my actions when we return and I will absolve the three of you from any responsibility. Is that acceptable to all of you?”
“No,” stated Goral.
The three women looked at the bearded giant with confusion. “Why not?” StarWind asked.
“You chose us because you respect our skills and because you trust your life to us,” Goral explained. “That trust should not be thrown away for personal convenience or comfort. I do not like the idea of bringing the youngsters back here, but we are all Sakovans and we all want the same thing. I trust RavenWing and I trust you. If both of you want them brought back here and you think it is important to our future, then that is what I will do and I do not need you to absolve me of anything.”
SkyDancer shook her head after listening to the longest statement she had ever heard Goral utter. “He’s right!” she exclaimed. “I don’t like it either, but RavenWing has guided us safely through troubling times. I will accept this risk the same as the risk I accept each time I go into battle for my people. I will stand with you, StarWind.”
“Darn!” shouted StormSong. “You didn’t even take a breath in there Goral. I am impressed. I will be damned if I am going to let mealy-mouth and the hairless-giant outshine me. I will help you bring them back. I may even drag the three of them by their hair for you. If I can’t talk sense into you three at least I can go along so you don’t hurt yourselves.”
StarWind chuckled and shook her head. “At least this trip is not going to be dull,” she laughed. “StormSong, see to the weapons and add in some goodies for surprises for the assassins. SkyDancer, you select the provisions, medical supplies and climbing gear. I do not want to leave anything out of our supplies. If in doubt, bring it. Goral, you get the chokas ready. I want two extra for our people already out there and three
more for the Omungans that we will be bringing back.”
“I would prefer to trust my own feet, if you do not mind,” Goral countered. “I do not get along with chokas. They are nasty and they do not like carrying my weight.”
“They can carry thrice your weight, Goral,” StarWind insisted, “and can run thrice the speed of your feet. We need their speed on this journey and using them will make carrying the youngsters back much easier. As for the chokas being nasty, well, they are supposed to be nasty, but not to their rider. I am sure you will survive.”
Goral nodded and StarWind informed them that they would be leaving at first light and dismissed them. SkyDancer could not suppress a giggle as Goral headed off towards the stables. Goral always tried to avoid riding on the large warbirds and everyone knew it was because Goral thought he was too big for the chokas and might hurt them.
Jostin saw Goral coming and ran over to open the gate. “How many chokas do you need?” the red-haired boy asked, always happy to do something for Goral.
“I don’t need any,” Goral frowned. “What makes you think I would need a choka?”
The disappointment on Jostin’s face was evident as he said, “I just figured that is why you came. A message from HawkShadow and then a call for StarWind and you go off with her a lot.” The boy’s face suddenly brightened. “You came over to tell me another story?” he blurted out, anxious for an exciting tale even though he still had work to do.
Goral smiled and shook his head. “Not today Jostin. Today we are about making new stories. I must have nine chokas ready for the morning and one of them must be sturdy enough to carry me. So much for security around this place. You should talk to RavenWing about being an apprentice to StarWind one of these days. You have a knack for putting together disparate information and following things to a logical conclusion.”
“I have already asked RavenWing a hundred times,” frowned Jostin as he led the way to the choka pens. “He says I am too young yet. I thought you said you didn’t need any chokas?”
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