Page 88 of The Dragonrider and the Void
“If you’re up for it?” Venrick asked.
Hardin paused, communicating with Quin. Then, he gave a nod. “The city’s wards are not very complex when they’re not activated for a siege. They should be less complex than those we saw in the Vermillion Keep. I think I can create a gap fairly quickly and we can fly over. It’s going to be risky, but I don’t see another way in.”
“Right then, let’s move,” Venrick said.
They circled wide around the city, approaching from the east through orchards and vineyards. By sticking low to the ground and traveling through the fields, where guards were less likely to be looking, they made fast progress.
When they reached the eastern wall, Venrick confronted the problem he’d been trying to solve the whole time they’d been close to the city. The thirty-foot stone barrier loomed above them. Torches were spaced along its length. Guards patrolled in pairs, but their attention appeared to be concentrated on roads and at whatever was happening inside the city.
“Cheyanne’s influence on people in Astral City has definitely had an impact,” Yarla observed. “Look how the guards are positioned.”
“You’re right,” Venrick said. “The guards along the wall are clustered around the eastern gate and most of them are facing inward, toward the Keep. It’s like they’re expecting trouble from within the city. Trying to prevent them from escaping. I don’t see many of them watching for Ezra and the rest of our forces arriving from the northeast. Maybe they will be able to get in with limited resistance.”
“Quin’s got a spot picked out for us to fly past. It’s hidden from most of the guards at the gate,” Hardin said.
Within moments, Quinthara’s dark form glided silently through the night sky, landing with impressive stealth in the shadow of an abandoned barn.
“We’ll go in groups of twos and threes,” Venrick said, instructing the small group of rebels that he, Yarla, and Hardin were traveling with. “Hardin goes last with Quinthara. The rest of our group follow Yarla’s lead once you’re over the wall. Head for the old temple but stay hidden. If we get separated, our rendezvous point will remain the same. Meet at the old temple.” Venrick turned to Hardin, “Let’s see what you’ve got, Ward Walker.”
Hardin rolled up his sleeves and began working. Within minutes, he nodded to Venrick, signaling he and Quin were ready.
Two elven scouts went first. Quinthara carried them to the top of the wall before slipping down into the city. Then three human rebels, then two dwarves and a Morsythian. Yarla and two elves went next, their slender forms easily lifted by the young dragon.
Finally, only Venrick, Hardin, and two other men remained. “You should go first,” Hardin said. “If anything happens to me, you need to reach Cheyanne to pass on what we’ve learned.”
Venrick clasped his arm. “We both will. Be careful.”
Quinthara silently lifted Venrick and the two other rebels, her massive claws cradling them gently as she rose into the night sky. The flight lasted several seconds before she deposited them atop an unmanned turret along the wall nearest the industrial district’s roofline. The two others began climbing down immediately.
Venrick remained for a moment. From this vantage point, he could see into the city. Fire blazed throughout the buildings in large sections between the Keep and the outer city wall. Angry crowds were gathering in squares and at crossroads. Guardsmen formed barriers around tactical buildings. And at the center of it all, the Vermillion Keep stood illuminated with magical light, glowing like a beacon of authority under siege.
Venrick spotted some of the other rebels he’d traveled with slipping into the tangled streets of the industrial district. As he prepared to follow, he heard shouting from below. He turned to see that a group patrolling the wall had spotted Quinthara.
“Hardin,” he breathed.
Crossbows fired as bolts flew through the darkness, one striking the young dragon’s wing. Quin roared in pain, the sound echoing across the fields.
“Quin!” Hardin shouted, breaking away from his cover and running through the field toward his fallen dragon.
Without hesitation, Venrick slapped down the brismil scale. Cobalt armor formed around him, fueling his body with raw power. He jumped from the turret onto a nearby rooftop and sprinted across toward the gate. As he charged from roof to roof, he could hear more shouts now, guards rallying to the disturbance.
At the Eastern Quarter Gate, chaos erupted. The massive doors swung open as mounted Knights poured out, heading toward the field where Quinthara had fallen. But as they did, a rumbling began, unannounced and completely unexpected.
From within the city, a crowd of people surged toward the East Gate, brandishing makeshift weapons and torches. They crashed into the city troops from behind, forcing them back through the gate in a wave of righteous fury.
“Free Lamar!” citizens shouted.
“The King betrays us!” others called.
The rebellion had reached the Eastern Quarter. And in the confusion, Venrick knew he could make a difference here. In a massive leap, he soared over an adjacent roof, landing right in the middle of the troop of Knights. Power rippled out from his brismil armor as he landed. Armored men backed away when he summoned Tel’s brismil blade.
“For Lark,” he said under his breath, and in a flash threw himself into action.
The next moments passed in a blur of steel and shouting. Venrick fought to clear a gap through the press, not aiming to kill but to open the East Gate to those who wished to leave or enter. Knights quickly retreated at the sight of him in full brismil armor and wielding a matching blade. Most there were unable to match his enhanced ability. Both Cheyanne’s rebels and citytroops alike, recognized the blue armor. People rallied around him and a path through the chaos formed.
Venrick darted through the open gate. There, he saw Hardin kneeling beside Quinthara, pulling the crossbow bolt from the soft fold of her wing. Looking her over once, he could see it was only the one arrow that punctured her.
Venrick cut down a Knight who attempted to block his path. “Can she fly?” he shouted to Hardin over the din of battle.
