Chapter 20 ~ Plans

Will blinked in the sunlight. The people that had rescued him from the slave traders were clothed in bright, colorful clothes and most of them had tattoos or body art. Different colored dyes decorated the skin of a large man who walked toward him, spear in hand. An Indian near him poked him with the bottom of his spear, an evil grin covering his painted face. The large man let out a shrill call and the Indian took a step back, looking guilty. Will looked around nervously. “Not very friendly,” he thought, “Yet they haven’t killed me…” He shifted uncomfortably as the man approached him and walked in a slow circle around him, his dark eyes seeming to judge him. A deadly hush fell over the tribe as they watched with awe-filled faces. Will’s stomach turned as the man stopped circling him and looked him in the eye. Will held his gaze. Then the man looked at his hand, the one that was marked with the sign of the dragon rider. He turned to the silently waiting tribe. He opened his mouth and proclaimed in a loud voice while raising his arms, “Lepoonea!” The whole tribe shouted and raised their arms, jumping up and down and dancing. One of the men disappeared as the tribe rushed up to Will. He was engulfed by hands touching his hand or ruffling his hair. The man reappeared with a spear and a torch, and two other men trailed behind him with bundles of fire wood. “That’s the third time I’ve heard that word today…” thought Will, “and I’m beginning to not like it.”

Render, Levi, Luna, Cless, Charity, and Bonnie exchanged worried looks. The dragons paced around anxiously. “How can we find him? He could be anywhere,” said Charity. “Could you send him another mental message, like you did to us?” she asked Cless.

He closed his eyes for a second. They waited in silence. His eyes flashed open. “He’s too far away,” he said, lowering his head and looking thoughtful.

“We could send the dragons to look for him,” suggested Levi. They considered this for a moment. The people here still weren’t used to dragons, and many spies were sure to report anything suspicious to Borom.

“Isn’t there a kind of meeting place for the traders?” asked Luna, “Someplace we can be sure to find him?”

“Of course. It’s an underground area of the black market,” said Render, getting up from the rock he was sitting on and pacing. “We can go there, but we’ll have to be careful. That’s where all the traders sell the slaves. It’s illegal and many evil people are sure to be there, but I’ll bet Will has ended up there if he hasn’t escaped already.” They nodded and made ready to travel in that direction. The dragons would stay on the ground, walking beside their riders, and the whole group was to be silent. It was only a day away. The week was growing shorter. They needed to get Will and stop Borom before it was too late.

Will watched as the men began preparing a large bonfire. The Indians had circled him and were trying to talk to him, also offering him spices and cloth. Before he knew what was going on, he was wearing a hat covered with flowers and a necklace made of fruit. The Indians led him over to a tree near the growing pile of logs. They all stopped very suddenly and turned to look at the large man, whom Will guessed was their chief. He approached Will solemnly and spoke in a strange tongue. Will peered at the people, confused. The man stopped talking and five strong Indians approached Will. They grabbed his arms and as he struggled, tried to tie him to the tree. He kicked one of them in the stomach and he fell over. He managed to punch another in the eye. Eventually, he was overpowered by more Indians. After a flurry of arms and legs, they backed away from Will, now tied to the tree. The chief turned to face the anticipating Indians, and exclaimed solemnly, waving a lit torch in the air dangerously close to the pile of logs at Will’s feet, “Lepoonea!” Will blinked, finally guessing what Lepoonea meant. Sacrifice.

The group traveled through a large forest on the side of the waterfall. It was about afternoon time and the trees above them glared at them, almost daring them to step closer. They glanced nervously around them. “Stay close,” Clesseath warned, “There’s a tribe of Indians here. Not as short as pigmies, but equally dangerous.” As the day wore on, they began to hear a faint noise. It was loud and continually growing, like a whispered breath on the wind.

“Is that…chanting?” asked Luna. They quickened their pace but stayed closer to the shadows. Soon they crouched in some bushes and peered out at a large clearing with lots of colorful people dancing and chanting around … something. Levi peered at what they were surrounding. Charity sucked in a sharp breath. “Will!”

The chief turned to Will, met his eyes, smiled, and lowered the torch to the logs. Will struggled violently. He suddenly remembered his knife and tried to get it out of his boot. A flaming arrow came out of no where and killed the Indian on the spot just as Baladon came roaring out the trees, eyes aflame, scorching the trice. The Indian fell, but the torch fell with him, lighting the wood on fire. Luna, Render, and Cless were firing arrows from the trees surrounding the clearing and using magic to fight the tribe. Levi, Charity, and Bonnie jumped out of the bushes, swinging their weapons wildly and striking anyone in their path. The minor dragons flew to Will, spitting on the fire in an attempt to put it out. Will clenched his teeth as he clutched his knife and began sawing away at the bonds tying him to the tree. In a few second he was free, and he joined in the brawl. The dragons erupted out the trees, flames of varied colors engulfing the Indians in a brilliant show of lights. The archers’ arrows struck their targets every time. The fighters fought hard. Eventually, the clearing was no more than an almost empty, scorched patch of grassless earth. Once the last of the cannibalistic Indians was properly disposed of, the gang cleaned their weapons and approached Will. He grinned at the sight of his friends. Charity laughed. He frowned. She pointed at his head. He reached up and pulled off the flowery hat, smiling too. Render dropped out of his tree without a sound and welcomed Will. Cless flew down and Luna followed him, gracefully landing on her toes. Bonnie approached him and they briefly swapped stories. He noted she was now wearing a loose, brown shirt under a leather jacket with black pants and a large belt filled with her knives and her sword hanging at her side. Her hat was the same as normal, as were her rings, and she smiled broadly when he explained he had almost been eaten. Charity told him of her pyromaniac removal of her captors. He laughed at that.

They camped there for the night and determined to tackle the castle tomorrow. Render and Cless spent the night talking over various plans. The others listened, ejecting ideas occasionally, or slept. The morning came with a light mist and a slight amount of rain. The minor dragons raced around, excited. The large dragons and riders left for a nice, long ride. They had been absent from the sky for too long, and they used the mist as an excuse for riding without being seen. When they got back they talked a bit more about the plan and set out toward the castle. There was no need to continue to the black market since they had met up with Will. It was straight to Borom from here on out.

“Alright, so, one more time, run the plan by me again?” asked Will as he trailed behind Baladon.

“We split up,” started Render. “Back group climbs through the garbage chute. Front group rides in the back of the wine cart through the front gate. You’ll have to sneak into the cart when the guards aren’t looking, but there are hollow barrels at the back of the cart for you to stow away in. Front group goes directly to the King’s chambers, once they’re inside an unattended, staying in the shadows. Back group slays all guards, making rounds around the castle. Lock all the doors and windows. There can’t be any way for the army of Borom to enter. Front group has to somehow take care of Borom and make sure the King lives. Once he is safe and the castle is clear, we’ll meet up,” said Render.

“Hm…are you sure you thought this out all the way through?” asked Charity, skeptically.

“No,” he replied truthfully, “But we’re short on time and this is the best we can do.” They nodded and walked in silence for a while. Cless walked in silence, doubtful thoughts leaking into his consciousness. Tomorrow was the big day. Tomorrow was the day that they had to change. Tomorrow was the day in history when things went wrong, and they had to stop it. Tomorrow was the day that they would re-write time…….hopefully.

~ Bonnie Spinner