Page 87 of The Dragonrider and the Void
“And the city will be in chaos,” Yarla added. “Cheyanne’s message said her people have been spreading the truth about the King and the Void Drinker throughout Astral City. The propaganda campaign has taken root.”
Venrick nodded. “Confusion works in our favor. When we get inside the city, we’ll need to find Cheyanne’s contact at the Red Stallion Tavern. They’ll have the latest information and can guide us to her position.”
As the afternoon waned, they encountered more signs of escalating conflict. Twice they were forced to hide as patrols of Vermillion Keep Knights passed nearby, larger than the group they’d diverted once already. Every few hours they could see dragons circling overhead, searching the forest canopy.
“The Keep is doubling down on their protection of the city,” Hardin observed. “They know an attack is coming.”
“Someone could’ve warned them that we were on the move,” Yarla suggested.
Venrick shook his head. “I don’t think that’s it. The riders can sense things are changing. The Flashover is coming, and with it, there will be chaos. The King’s control is slipping as the Void Drinker tightens his grip over him.”
As the setting sun cast orange rays across the clouds, they emerged from the trees to see Astral City. Torches glowed all along the city wall as troops lined the battlements. Beyond thosewalls rose the imposing silhouette of the Vermillion Keep, its red stone turned black against the evening sky.
Venrick studied the scene, noticing some unusual activity at the city gates. Instead of funneling into the city for shelter from a battle, citizens were leaving en masse. Throngs of people streamed out from the gates.
That’s odd, why are they leaving?
21
REBELLION
“That’s not normal festival traffic leaving the city,” Yarla observed. “Those are citizens of Astral City. Families are fleeing in droves.”
As they watched from afar, a formation of dragons took flight from the Vermillion Keep’s aerie. Their dark forms became highlighted against the pastel sky. They circled once in a V formation before spreading out to patrol the boundary of the city’s wards.
“Ashes, I think it’s started,” Venrick realized.
“The Flashover?” Hardin asked.
“No, I mean Cheyanne’s efforts are working. The commoners are leaving the city; troops are posted on the wall; the dragons are patrolling the wards. I think the people of Lamar are rising up against the King,” Venrick said, meeting Hardin’s gaze with an intense stare.
A figure emerged from the twilight shadows behind them. The elven scout who’d gone ahead to assess how to approach the city.
“The north gate is under heavy guard and the others surrounding the city are sealed,” he reported. “Knights andParagons are checking everyone who wants to enter. I spoke to some of those fleeing the city. There’s been fighting in the Lower Districts between the wall and the Keep. Our comrades have gained a following. They’re the ones who are actively fighting against the King’s forces. To make matters worse, some are saying the Flashover’s going to come earlier than expected. It’s creating panic.”
Venrick turned to Hardin and said, “Ezra’s going to have a hard time getting the rest of Cheyanne’s forces into the city if it’s under guard.”
“We’re going to need to send a runner back to him. Let him know to remain out of sight until Cheyanne gives him more orders,” Hardin said.
Venrick addressed the elven scout again, asking, “Did you glean any information about the contact we’re to meet at the Red Stallion?”
The elf shook his head. “When I asked those fleeing the city, I heard from more than one eyewitness that the tavern’s been burned to the ground. Vermillion Keep guards torched it after finding out that it was a front for Cheyanne’s organization.”
“The communication stones are out of Yogo energy. I can’t get a hold of Cheyanne now,” Yarla said.
Hardin cleared his throat. “Sasja told me about Cheyanne’s fallback point. It’s an old temple in the Eastern Quarter. If I had to guess, that’s where they’ll be operating out of now.”
“I’m familiar with that part of the city,” Venrick said. “That’s where we’ll go, if we get past the wall in once piece.” He rested his hand on the elf’s shoulder and said, “We need you to go find Ezra and the rest of Cheyanne’s forces. They’ll need to proceed with caution now that security has increased around the edge of Astral City. Once we get to Cheyanne, we’ll fill her in. Hopefully Ezra’s got his own scouts running messages with Cheyanne, but there’s too much at risk not to take precautions.”
“I’ll go find them,” the elf said, nodding farewell to Yarla and Hardin.
As darkness fell completely, they made their way cautiously toward the city. The small group of rebel soldiers Venrick, Hardin, and Yarla were traveling with ahead of Eza chose to stick to moving only in the shadows. They snuck through hedgerows, hid behind barns, and approached under cover of other farm buildings. Eventually, the line of citizens fleeing the city thinned, making it more likely that their approach would be noticed. Every time patrols of mounted Knights swept the road, the small squad was forced to hide until they passed.
“If this crowd continues to thin, we’ll never get through the gates,” Hardin whispered as they crouched behind an abandoned farm cart. “Even under cover of darkness, with me creating a gap in the city wards. There are just too many people watching.”
“What if we don’t use the gates,” Venrick suggested, his eyes fixed on a section of the eastern wall. “Remember how we left? The rooftops. If we can clear the wall, we can retrace our escape route.”
“The eastern wall backs up to an industrial district,” Yarla said. “The buildings come close to the battlements there. With some luck and Quin’s help, we might be able to clear the wall quickly enough to remain unseen.”
