Chapter 521

521 Clearing A Path

The morning air was crisp, and stung Tidas’ lungs as he stood on the deck of the ship, and yawned. The sun was just starting to stain the darkened sky a deep blue as people ran back and forth with equipment. The people still recovering, like the captain’s daughter, were being moved off of the ship along with their haul..

The cargo was being unloaded and stored with a family that the captain knew, as well as any still sick. The situation at the docks closest to the capital was unknown, and no one wanted to put the people, or their profits in harm’s way. Everything had been unloaded, packed, and stored away before vivid colors had chased away the lingering night.

Zazzy hadn’t flown any higher than twenty-five feet or so, to make sure that they weren’t spotted. The ship had been booked with the idea of transporting her on it in mind, but Zazzy didn’t want to be stuck on the deck when she could easily fly and sleep where she wanted. Now that she be was confined to the deck until they had reached a specific opening, she knew that she’d made the right call before.

“Genie’s plan depends upon a small element of surprise ta work. Tis just fer a few hours, then we get ta give everyone a show.. Are ya ready, me scaly bairn?” Skye had asked her.

Zazzy grumbled as she telepathically told her mother; “Fine, but I want to smash the big rock at the end. It looks fun when you do it!”

Skye chuckled lightly, which disturbed some of the crewmen around her. She’d been sitting quietly while petting and staring at the dragon, then just started to laugh out of no where. Realizing how nutters she must’ve seemed to them, Skye immediately stopped laughing, and told Zazzy that she could destroy the two halves after she’d split it down the middle.

As the two mentally chatted away, Genie went over the instructions with his people and the rest of the Alconians. The eight groups would scatter, and run to their designated places, then watch for Zazzy to reach a certain altitude before they launched their attacks. It sounded simple enough, but Genie hadn’t expected the number of guards that Tokuga had stationed all around the capital’s walls.

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Just like Dragonhorn, Sai was built in, around, and on a massive dragon skeleton. Unlike Zazzy’s mother Lazarus, the ones surrounding Sai were a crimson red color. Apparently it had been a Fire dragon of immense power when it was alive, but had still died when it’s rider had.

Senator Tokuga had placed guards on top of the lookout towers that were made from the skeleton’s ribs. The bones weren’t as tough as the ones that were left from Lazarus, but they were still as strong as ancient steel. Genie was going to handle them while his people and the Alconians handled the guards on the ground.

.....

By the time they had reached the outskirts of Sai’s capital, Genie had over a thousand people helping their cause altogether. Those actually participating in the spectacle only numbered around eighty, but the others had an equally important job: spreading the word. Everyone and their grandmother knew of the Alconian diplomats arrival, and that the mythical dragon was with them as well.

By sunrise, the streets of Sai’s capital were packed with people like a festival was being held. Everyone came together to see the legendary creature as it made it’s way to the Senate building. No one knew how the dragon would enter the city, so everyone was constantly looking around; mainly at the sky.

All of the Senators, including Senator Tokuga, were standing outside of the old palace. Word of the Alconian diplomats’ arrival had reached them as well, and they were all awaiting them with as much anticipation as the rest of the citizens. Only a select few seemed to be in foul moods..

Senator Tokuga in particular seemed extremely irritated with the fact that everyone knew of the Alconians’ arrival. He wanted to capture them in secret, and extract some of the dragon’s blood, but that plan was most likely going to fail now. It infuriated the senator beyond words that Jin Laos was the one chosen to be a diplomat sent to Alcon..

‘If not for Moonstone, none of this would be happening! I told Senator Lei to turn him away.. Now his daughter and her husband are my biggest problems!’

As Senator Tokuga gritted his teeth, one of his guards appeared at his side and told him; “Their ship has been spotted in the harbor, but the dragon, the Alconians, and Jin’s people were not there. What are your orders, Master?”

Tokuga grimaced as he spoke low; “Make sure that the dragon doesn’t enter the city.. Shoot it down if you have to. All we need is it’s blood.”

The guard swallowed hard out of personal confliction, but added; “And what of the others?”

Huffing due to his irritation reaching it’s boiling point, Senator Tokuga replied; “Just get rid of them! We’ll fabricate a reason behind their deaths later..”

After a quick nod and bow, the guard disappeared into the shadows, barely being noticed by anyone.. Except for Senator Lei. He hadn’t heard their conversation, but he could tell that Tokuga was on edge. As he tilted his head to the skies, he prayed to the universe that Skye, Tidas, Zazzy, and his brother would reach the palace safely..

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“Ralph! Two o’clock! Klaus! Eleven! Keep pace and mow down Anyone in your way! We have to reach the north side of the city within twenty minutes! Let’s Move!” Tidas screamed as he slammed into two Sai soldiers, and kept running.

Ronnie and Kari were riding on Monty’s back as they followed behind the main force. Ronnie was using his Tamer trait to keep communications open between everyone with a variety of crows, pigeons, and a single sparrow for Genie. He only needed to take out the tower guards, then wait for Skye and Zazzy to show, so his communications were simple and easy.

Everyone else was given birds that could speak to a certain level. The crows could actually say a handful of words, but the pigeons were limited to signals based on the number of coos they made. It was a simple system, but the pigeons were assigned to the groups in charge of taking out the guards..

One of the things that Genie had never anticipated was Tokuga going as far as to try and kill Zazzy. But the bolt-action spear launchers mounted on the walls and towers were evidence of his determination. Genie wasn’t sure how many there were altogether, but he relayed the positions of all the ones that he could see via his little sparrow.

Ronnie could have telepathic conversations with his companions, and relayed Genie’s coordinates to all of the teams. His people were covering all of the points except for the north. Only two were fast enough to keep up with Tidas, Ralph, and Klaus, so they accompanied them to the farthest threat.

Soldiers dressed in crimson and black armor tried everything that they could to slow the five down, but they were overwhelmed the moment that they came into contact. They followed the wall made of deep-red dragon bones until a massive hill could be seen in the distance. The thick trees made it difficult to see clearly, but it didn’t matter as long as they were running in the right direction.

Branches and bushes cut into any exposed skin as they sprinted, until a large clearing at the base of the hill came into sight. As Tidas and his group dashed towards it with burning lungs, his heart sank..

A massive catapult guarded by two large guns awaited them, and ultimately Skye and Zazzy. Feeling a rush of urgency, Tidas kicked his speed up to full throttle. Leaving Ralph, Klaus, and the two ninja behind. Ralph wanted to shout out to him, but didn’t want to draw the attention of the guards.

The gunners were sitting while idly chatting away, not paying any mind to their surroundings. They barely had time to scream when Tidas bulldozed one, then knocked the other two out with his sheathed sword. The other machine gun was in the process of being loaded when Ralph and Klaus ran over.

As they took care of the three soldiers, Tidas and the two ninja ran up to the catapult..

The contraption was loaded and ready to be fired whenever the dragon appeared. Four of the six soldiers manning the catapult had readied to fight the three approaching while the other two took aim against Zazzy and Skye. They were flying high enough so that they had yet to be seen, and they weren’t within the city limits yet.

As the marksman fixed the catapult’s trajectory, Tidas came up from behind him, and knocked him out cold. He had taken out two of the four trying to block them, and left the remaining two to the ninjas. The remaining marksman’s jaw hung low for a few seconds before he’d immediately put his hands up in the air like he was surrendering.

After closing the gap between them within the blink of an eye, Tidas grabbed the younger man by the collar of his armor. Utter terror crossed the young man’s features as ‘The Titan Pillar’ spoke in a corse version of Sai’s language, and asked; “Did your orders come from the Senate, or from one Senator?”

The young soldier shook his head fervently, not wanting to die now from the Third Prince of Alcon, or later from his superior. Won’t of both patience and time, Tidas glared at him, and bent the edge of the soldier’s armor with his hand. The many made an involuntary whining noise, swallowed hard, then said; “I’m just a soldier! I just follow orders!”

Tidas narrowed his eyes further as his voice grew almost malevolent; “Who is trying to hurt my family?”

The man’s breathing had become ragged and heavy as he sputtered; “I can’t! They’ll kill me!”

A dark grin stretched across Tidas’ face as he dug his fingers into the metal of the soldier’s armor, and said; “Do you know what dragons do to people that try to hurt their family?”

Right after the man shook his head in the negative, Tidas added; “They eat them..”

Right as Tidas had finished speaking, Zazzy’s roar echoed across the open sky. All color drained from the man’s face as his rapid breathing grew shallow, then he dropped like a sack of potatoes. Tidas had released his grip the second he saw the young soldier’s eyes roll into the back of his head.

As Tidas struggled to reframe from laughing out loud, Zazzy belted out another roar. It was the signal that she was in position for their little spectacle. After checking to make sure that the young man still had a pulse, Tidas rejoined Genie’s ninjas to start the show..