* * * Kody * * *

  It was night. The forest's soft murmur filled the air. The guards had long gone to sleep, only a few of them still milling about. Kody stood amongst the branches of a large oak tree, surveying it all, memorizing patrol times, searching for blind spots. With a little luck he'd only need to planewalk once or twice.

  Once he was satisfied with his planned route, he silently descended the tree, and approached the encampment wall. The palisade was less than a year old, the nearby area only having started recovering from it.

  Kody placed his hand on the wall, and pushed gently. It phased through with some resistance. He stepped into and through the wall, slipping in unnoticed.

  In front of him were a number of fabric tents. Further on, near the center of the camp were wooden huts, and one, well-guarded stone building. His target.

  He moved in a wide arc around the camp, taking his time avoiding detection and confrontation. In some cases he passed only a few inches behind the backs of patrolling soldiers. Eventually he reached the first wooden hut. Passing behind it, he found a soldier slumped into a ditch, probably having fallen asleep. ' New recruits ' he thought.

  The huts lined up nicely, and moving by their back walls made everything much quicker. He found a second soldier, this one splayed across a bench at an unhealthy angle. An arrow stuck out of his chest. He wasn’t the only unwelcome guest here. The arrow tail wasn’t of a style he immediately recognized, but it looked familiar. Elven maybe?

  This worried him. He slowed down, carefully peeking behind corners, avoiding moonlit areas. The Moonfest was Still a couple of nights away, but the silvery light made everything plenty visible.

  As he reached the stone hut, he stopped. The front door was in full light, two soldiers with torches standing guard on either side. Whoever the mystery archer was, would have too good a shot at him that way. Sighing, he placed his hand on the stone wall, and phased through it. It mustn't have been older than a few weeks, as it offered little to no resistance. Furthermore, a now detectable aura of magic enveloped not only him, but the entire building. The key was in there after all.

  As he set foot on the inside, he found himself face to face with a very surprised camp lieutenant. Before the soldier could move a muscle or utter a word, his throat was cut, and Kody lowered him to the ground. He saw two more guards sitting at a table, who for a brief time wouldn't spot him in the dark corner he managed to emerge into. He didn't leave anything else to chance. He threw a dagger at one, and leapt between them, kicking the other in the chest. The soldier fell back on his chair, and knocked a shelf off the wall. Its contents showered him with various sharp splinters and blunt hits. The noise muffled the thud of the other soldier landing on the floor as well, the dagger sticking out of his forehead.

  Kody was sure the commotion could be heard from outside, and so he made a beeline for a cabinet, where he felt the magic was strongest, and tore its drawer open. Inside was a small chest, just big enough to fit something he could pocket easily. He grabbed it and noticed it was locked. A key probably hung from the lieutenant's neck, but he had no time to search for it, as the two guards posted outside charged into the room.

  He swung at one with the chest, the impact producing a loud ' CLANG ', and breaking it open. With his other hand, he stabbed at the other's neck, the dagger’s blade disappearing into the soldier’s flesh. The chest's contents scattered on the floor, a small, star-shaped relic among them. He grabbed it quickly, and noticed it was broken. Not from the last few seconds, but more deliberately; half of it was missing. The key was supposed to look like a twelve-pointed star, the points forming a rough sphere, but in his hand were only six, and a gap in the middle, where a crystal should've been.

  Not knowing how much time he had until reinforcements came, he grabbed the soldier he'd first incapacitated, and shook him awake.

  "Where's the other half?" he asked.

  The soldier looked at him with a mixture of confusion and pain.

  "Where is it?" he shook the man further.

  The soldier's eyes focused on the relic. He took a few seconds to process it, but then answered:

  "In a base up north" he said, his voice slightly slurred, then in a wide, flailing motion, kicked Kody, who fell to the ground. The relic rolled away again.

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  Kody got back up, kicked the man in the side to roll him over, then stabbed him on the back of the neck. The soldier sighed one last time, and stopped moving.

  He got up, looked around, and couldn't see the relic anywhere. He heard someone running away outside, and looking out the door, he spotted a short, hooded figure turn a corner. He immediately chased after them, hoping they would be running for the main gate - not everyone could pass through solid walls.

  As he ran, he saw more guards, lying face down in the dirt, slumped against walls, arrows sticking out of them. They were shot as they came to help their comrades. Based on the direction, the archer was up in the same tree Kody had used to scout the location.

  He ran behind the tents, hoping to avoid the archer's line of sight, getting a few short glances at his quarry. They were running for the main gate. Thirty feet and closing in.

  As he neared the gate, the line of tents ended. He tried to jump, hoping to tackle the thief, but he slipped. Under him was a fine layer of ice, denying him traction. The thief looked back at him, a pair of eyes glowing like stars in the dark. He skidded to a stop in the dust as he watched them round the corner again, leaving the camp.

  Not all was lost just yet. He could still catch them, even if the thief escaped. He could go after the archer. He turned towards the tree, now under the camp wall's cover, and jumped through it, landing softly on the other side.

  The thief was not yet there, so Kody set about neutralizing the archer. He climbed up as silent as he could manage, and spotted… a ranger?

  He was a Patron. His turquoise cape shimmered magically, hiding his form, but Kody's angle on him revealed him entirely. Kody grabbed at his ankle and dragged the ranger down the tree with him, weighing him down once they landed.

  "Who are you?" Kody asked, dagger at the ranger's throat

  "William" the ranger sighed, knocked out of breath by the landing.

  "Why are you stealing that key? Who's your accomplice?"

  "I'm not an accomplice. " a soft, feminine voice said behind him.

  Kody jumped off of the ranger, keeping the dagger to his throat still, but now facing the thief. She had removed her hood, and was now looking at him. A short, humanoid figure with a scaly, lizard-like face, small horn jutting backwards from the top of her skull. A vern .

  "My name is Zeenie and I'm-"

  “A little thief!” Kody interrupted, “And you have something of mine.”

  “And you have my brother there!”

  “If you don't want to see him die, hand it over!”

  The vern girl clenched her fist. Her pupils dilated then refocused in her frustration. Nostrils wide open, she looked just about ready to spit at him.

  “You have nothing over me here.” Kody said “Either you give it to me or he dies.”

  Her form shifted slightly. Not enough to be magically distinct, but Kody could feel the magic radiating off of her. She was something more.

  He thought quickly; a lone vern without a tribe, not visibly missing one, with a human companion she called her brother. Could she be…? Her breath was visible in the air, and her hands started freezing over with a fine layer of ice.

  “I can hurt you plenty, I’m a-”

  Magic. No tribe. Human brother. He put it together.

  "A dragon." he stated.

  "How'd you know?" she asked, a bit disoriented from the surprise.

  He didn't have to answer out loud. She knew.

  ' Orthus, you'll like this ' Kody thought really hard. The telepathic message took some concentration, but he managed it.

  "I… know a dragon" He said after a short pause.

  Zeenie looked at him quizzically. He wasn't sure if it was surprise or disbelief he saw on her face, but nonetheless, his answer had invoked an emotion.

  "Let go of him!" Zeenie said, re-assuming her stance, "Please."

  "Not until you give me back my key."

  "We need it." William said.

  Kody looked back and forth between them. They didn't seem hostile. Maybe he could use them.

  "I will let you go." he said, but still held onto his hostage. "Part of the key is missing, but I know where we can find it. You are going to help me get the rest of it, then I will let you use it, and take it back afterwards."

  Zeenie took the relic out. It became clear to everyone it was only half of the key. Her expression changed to that of slight disappointment.

  The pair shared a glance. It was the kind of quick consensus he was familiar with. Orthus and he also used to do that instead of discussing things.

  "Yes, we will help you." Zeenie said, " Please let him go.

  Kody carefully let go of the ranger, and sheathed his dagger in a very elaborate way.

  "Thank you." the dragon said.

  The ranger nodded at him, and he nodded back, in unspoken understanding.

  "So," William said, "Where is the rest of it?"

  Kody studied him closely. He didn't look dangerous to him, not up close at least. He made the decision to trust these strangers for the moment.

  "It's in a base up north." Kody answered. "One of the guards told me."

  "That could be anywhere!" the ranger said in a hushed shouting voice.

  "He used the word 'base', and not 'camp'." Kody answered. William looked down. He looked to be thinking, and Kody hoped he realized what an Empire Base meant.

  "Heavily fortified and guarded then." William said finally.

  "Yes. We'll need a plan."

  * * * Orthus * * *

  Orthus flew over a large lake, his silhouette reflecting off of the still water. The next gate hub was still a while away. The night was still early, a faint glow on the horizon was hanging onto daylight still.

  ' Orthus, you'll like this' Kody's voice whispered in his mind.

  The message was a vague sense, an overall feeling rather than a set of words, but once received, he knew exactly what his partner wanted.

  He tipped his wings to the left, and made a wide arc as he turned around. The assassin had found another dragon.