A hushed voice could be heard from beyond the wall, an urgent undertone rapidly explaining something to an unknown figure beyond. Memorian was whispering to Skrilliant, his back pressed against the crumbling stone wall and a worried expression clouding his face.
"Kid, I'm telling you, what you're doing isn't going to get you anywhere; Greely already knows where the attack plan is, we can't bypass that!"
"Well then, what do you suggest I do?" Skrilliant replied.
"I dunno... I have a few ideas, but none of them are in our best interests..." Memorian trailed off. He sighed and slouched against the wall with Skrilliant. "I dunno kid," he muttered worriedly. He absentmindedly began scratching at the scars on his neck. Skrilliant looked sharply at him.
"They won't heal properly if you keep scratching at them like that, Memorian," Skrilliant said sternly.
"Oh, yeah..." Memorian replied, jerking his paw away from the scars. After a few moments of silence, the old wolf sighed. "Ah, have you thought of any ideas?" he asked.
"Well, just one..." Skrilliant replied dejectedly.
"Let's hear it then! It's better than nothing, right?" Memorian wagged his tail hopefully.
"Well, it's not exactly safe, but... I was thinking, since Greely is our number one threat right now, we could possibly... Remove him from the equation, perhaps by capturing him in a part of the catacombs?"
"How so?"
"Shara. She can interrogate him, since need him alive with all the information he has, and a lot of the Shaman's attack strategies as well. Shara said she'd personally be the one to interrogate him once she found him. I have a good idea as to his location, but I fear Shara alone may not be enough to capture him," Skrilliant explained slowly.
"Seems sound to me, but how are we going to capture him if Shara's still too weak?" Memorian asked.
"That's what I was wondering..." Skrilliant trailed off slowly. "I could accompany her, but I can't leave the kingdom alone if we're still not even sure we can find him in time. You and Dewdrop aren't enough to defend the place if Greely finds out I've left. Ah... No offense."
"None taken, kid. I'm old, I don't blame ya. We could... We could lure him down into the catacombs somehow, and maybe get the drop on him there?
"Yes, I think that would be ideal," Skrilliant muttered, his brow furrowed in concentration.
"Well, until we get that going, I'm gonna go kill time somewhere," Memorian said absentmindedly. He padded off to the surrounding forest, leaving Skrilliant alone with his thoughts, back pressed against the ancient stone as the sun lowered over the horizon.
~***~
"Psst, Mira?" a deep voice whispered through the darkness.
"Memorian, is that you?" an enormous grey heron replied uncertainly, opening a wide door that led to the garden of the Sky Palace.
"Who else, bird-brain?" Memorian stepped out of the bushes he'd been hiding in. Mira relaxed as she watched the black wolf slink through the night to greet her, his glowing spikes casting an eerie purple light around them. He sat in front of her and wagged his tail in greeting, and she smiled. It's cute that one with such a brazen personality would have such an innocent habit, she thought to herself.
"So?" she asked expectantly.
Memorian tilted his head in a questioning manner. "So what?" he asked, faking ignorance. Mira let out a chuckle and sat down in front of him. She flashed her most dazzling smile and her form shimmered, wavering and emitting a bright blue light until, with a quiet pop, the heron in front of him transformed into a light blue and grey wolf, wings folded at her sides.
Memorian wagged his tail and gave a happy yap of excitement at seeing the beautiful wolf once more. He shifted closer to her, and proceeded to explain in detail the exact words that Skrilliant had said to him, not hours before.
~***~
As the sun rose over the horizon, the two wolves lay quiet, enjoying the silence the dawn brought. Memorian gave a yawn, stood up, and stretched. He nuzzled Mira's fur with his scarred snout, then headed back the way he had come. He waved his tail in farewell, and Mira smiled dimly and flicked her ears in turn. As soon as she heard the rustle of bushes fade to the distance, her smile dropped and she turned stony faced once more.
How on earth are we going to be able to intercept the Phantom King's plan without casualties? She thought worriedly. She sighed and quickly changed back to her grey heron form.
"Might as well go and inform the Shamans," she muttered to herself. She turned and headed into the sky palace, fearing what the future for Jamaa may bring if the Phantoms came to power once more. I've risked everything to get where I am now, and I'm not going to give it up for anything, she thought icily.
She walked to the great hallway of the Palace, and after locating where Greely was staying the night, gave a few flaps of her great wings and landed by his door. She knocked three times, and a muffled growl resonded.
"Enter," it said. Mira opened the door and walked into the cavernous room, whiffs of scented candles greeting her in the darkness.
The room where Greely stayed temporarily was enormous, a vaulted ceiling spanning to the sky and a stone floor of glittering marble adding a touch of light to the darkened windows. Seemingly every inch of the walls were covered in parchment, and maps of every kind. On the floor there littered gems, magical items, more parchment, ink, and a massive carpet depicting a distant war between wolves and phantoms. In the corner lay a massive bed with deep red blankets and disorderly arranged pillows. Next to it was a desk, quills and parchment covering every available surface.
"Mira, how can I help you?" Greely said from behind the desk.
"I have the information I promised, but... You're not going to like it," she replied in a serious tone.
"Do continue, I was just mapping out some more of the Phantom's territory to the South," he said, motioning for her to sit at the chair in front of the desk.
She picked her way across the floor and sat. "I'm going to be frank with you, Greely, I don't see any way out of this one for you."
Greely's ears perked and he looked up sharply at Mira. "How so?"
"They have Shara, and they're going to use her to capture you," Mira said quietly. Greely's eyes widened.
"My sister?" he asked. Mira nodded in confirmation. He slouched in his chair and rubbed his eyes with his free paw. He let out an enormous sigh and growled, "Details,".
Mira obliged.
YOU ARE READING
Rise of Kings
Fantasy(I honestly don't know where I was going with this, but here are some things I wrote a while ago)
