It was around three hundred miles by sea from Karakan to Happar. I could shorten that a little if I cut across land, but I figured that if I was scouting for ships I should do it right. Val had once drilled me on the naval ensigns of the relevant cities and nations, but I just had to assume that the few ships I saw this far north were Karakani. It wasn’t exactly easy to identify a waterlogged lump of cloth hanging limp from a rope.

  There weren’t many ships, but there were plenty of signs that they’d been there. Mallin was an island, and fishing villages were strewn along the coast. As I got closer to the border, those villages looked empty, with their boats gone. I had no doubt that if not for the rain, I’d be seeing the burned out husks of buildings, not just empty ones. As it was, the threat or reality of coastal raids must have been enough.

  When I reached the mouth of the Divide, the river that separated Karakan from Happar, the urge to fly inland was strong. There had been no official word of how the war went since I returned to the city. The fact that the Happarans had crossed the river hadn’t even been announced to the population at large, though from what my family had told me word had gotten around, in whispered conversation or drunken arguments. All I had to go off was Sempralia’s insistence that the Karakani line was holding, but the tone in her voice when she told us that made me want to see for myself.

  I forced myself to fly on, continuing south along the coast. I had a mission to accomplish, and I was easily distracted. If I headed up that river I might easily lose myself in putting Val’s ideas to the test, dropping rocks on Happaran formations. That, and trying to find Maglan to fulfill my promise to Herald. Better to avoid the temptation entirely by putting a hundred miles or more between myself and the front. If I had time I could take a look on my way back, and that would have to be enough.

  The number of ships increased again as I got closer to Happar, but I had no more luck telling them apart than before. From what I’d read and the conversations I’d had, everyone on this island, everywhere around the Sea of Sarey, even, were pretty much the same culture. The Tekereteki were a different people, but they shared the same technological base, and their ships were all built along the same lines. I had no damn idea how I was supposed to know if a ship was from Karakan or Tekeretek, short of landing on the deck and asking which language they spoke.

  Which… wasn’t a terrible idea. Well, actually landing was a terrible idea. Utterly horrific, unless my goal was to kill a lot of people. But I didn’t need to land, as such, did I? Their masts were tall, and I could fly unseen and silent. If I wanted to get onto the deck of a ship undetected, so that I could listen to the crew and maybe have a look around, I was pretty sure that I could do that.

  Getting away unseen might be trickier. But that was future Draka’s problem, and she’d been reliable so far.

  It took me most of the day to reach the city of Happar. I passed above fishing villages, abandoned or thriving, and above coastal towns with full harbors. Checking them was easy enough, Shifting high above and drifting down, then leaving for some hidden place to take off again, but the only Tekereteki I ever saw was a group of traders.

  Not exactly evidence of wrongdoing.

  Finally, late in the afternoon and after many hours of flying at a pace that wouldn’t exhaust me, I saw a proper city appear on the horizon. Not much later I was circling high above, taking in all that I could before descending for a closer look.

  Happar wasn’t as large as Karakan, and while it looked denser I doubted that it was enough to make up for the difference. Nor was it built directly on the coast. A large port and its associated town sat on the southern coast of Mallin, at the mouth of a wide river, and the city of Happar itself straddled this river, its walls a mile from the sea.

  A wide road, busy even in the lousy weather, connected the two. This came as no surprise given how busy the port was. Happar might be a smaller city than Karakan, and the duchy’s territories may be smaller, but judging by the number of ships of all sizes in the port it saw no less trade than its rival. Some of the ships were clearly military, but the majority looked like any trading vessel I might have seen back home.

  None of that mattered much, though, because there was nothing there that looked like a Tekereteki fleet. I could tell the Council that Happar had plenty of ships, sure, but that wasn't anything they didn't know already. They needed something they could show the League ambassadors, to convince them to mobilize against a major threat, not just a limited war between neighbors.

  I had two real options. I could find somewhere to hole up and wait, to see if anything happened. That might end up with me bored and getting distracted, but I was pretty good at just lying still and being patient. Or, I could fly out. I could range hundreds of miles out to sea, and though that range would drop by a lot if I flew any kind of search pattern, I could still cover a sizeable area in a day.

  That option spoke to me. As much as I’d like to get a closer look at a completely new city, I’d never gone far out to sea. There had never been a reason to, and I’d been a little worried about going too far, getting tired and not having a good place to land and rest. Now, with Greater Fortitude backing me, I could just keep going and going, as long as I paced myself.

  My mind made itself up. I’d spend some time in or near Happar resting and sating my curiosity, and once night set in I’d head south-east, across the sea.

  The land around Happar was as flat and open as that near Karakan, leaving me without anywhere to wait nearby. I would have to go into the city. I took a long, lazy circle, not at all worried about being seen, and my choice fell on a tall tower that rose from a large, walled complex. The ducal palace maybe? It was certainly nice enough. Pretty architecture, with lots of vaults and… decorative bits. Great place to work against the duchy from.

  I Shifted as I reached the wide roof of the tower, then drifted down and inside one of the large, unshuttered windows. It was perfect. I had views of both the port and the city, and since it was only accessible through a hatch in the floor no one could bother me while I rested, nice and dry. I hadn't even dragged any water inside with me!

  I spent a few hours there, mostly napping on top of the hatch, but looking around every so often to see if anything had changed. Not much did. Two ships anchored and three set sail, one by one and all looking like merchant ships. The moon came out visible for a few minutes on the horizon before the clouds swallowed it, and the sun dipped, then set. Then someone tried to open the hatch, jostling me uncomfortably, and as I heard a woman start swearing loudly beneath me I decided that it was time to go. The next time whoever it was started banging, cursing whoever it was that was supposed to keep the hatch from warping and sticking in the rainy season, I Shifted.

  The hatch flew open, passing through my thoughtless behind in an extremely uncomfortable way. A sudden yelp came through the opening, followed by a crash, a groan, and a new wave of cursing that set everything before it to shame. Feeling not at all ashamed of myself I slunk out a window, Shifted midair, and took off towards the coast.

  For the life of me, I couldn't figure out how nobody had told me how big the damn archipelago was.

  A chain of tall, forested peaks rose out of the sea, leading south-east from the southernmost point of Mallin. Some of them must have been over a mile tall, rising sharply, while others were more gentle. They were all tiny compared to the main island, ranging in size from dozens of miles across to just a few hundred feet, but there were plenty of them, scattered at distances of a few miles to a few dozen. And those were only the ones I saw. For all I knew there could be any number of them out there, beyond the horizon.

  It wasn't like they were uninhabited, either. Even the smallest had villages on them, and the largest had major towns that rivaled any I’d seen on Mallin. There must be hundreds of thousands of people living out there, and all of them flew the flag of Happar, along with their own, local ones. Happar, I realized, was a lot bigger than just the small part of Mallin that they held.

  Since they were all on islands, every single town had a harbor, and I had to check them all. And since some of these harbors held squadrons of Happaran navy ships, I had to check them all up close to see if any of the armed ships were Tekereteki. In short, it made my job a whole lot harder, and that was my life for the next two days. I’d fly from island to island and take a loop around to find any major settlements. I’d check if there was a suspicious number of armed ships anchored, and if there was, I’d get in close to see if anyone was speaking Tekereteki. If they were I’d determine if they were merchants or not. And then I’d move on to the next island, and the next, and the next.

  I dialed back the stealth early on my first day among the islands. I simply didn’t have time, so for flyovers I just did my own thing and didn’t give a damn if anyone saw me. For the first few hours I’d Shifted when I needed to get in closer, but I soon realized that it was much easier to swoop across the deck of a ship and see which language the crew screamed and cursed in. That really increased the rate at which I could check islands, and I even started to regret not taking Herald along. It ended up being fun, after all!

  This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  But all good things must come to an end. In the late afternoon of my second day in the archipelago I found them: Two dozen ships at anchor, not in a town’s harbor but in a large, protected bay that filled much of the nearly uninhabited crescent-shaped island. Just from their number I decided that stealth and caution were again in order, and I kept high and against the clouds as much as I could.

  Then I saw the boats. A large number of small boats sat along the beach, meaning that there must be crew ashore. Picking up fresh food and water, perhaps? With the number of ships at anchor it would probably decimate the local wildlife, but I doubted the inhabitants of the small fishing village that lay by the bay were in any position to protest.

  Now, my plan when I dropped among the trees was only to see if these sailors were actually Tekereteki. I thought they might be, since they were effectively hiding, but I wanted confirmation. I wanted to hear them. And they were. They spoke the languages, at least, which was good enough for me.

  I hadn't intended to grab some poor bastard and fly off with him, but some things just have a way of working themselves out on their own. And when I found a guy alone and pissing on a tree, pants half down to reveal an ass as dark as Tam’s, I just rolled with it.

  I mean, I let him finish and pull his pants up. I’m not a complete monster. But when he turned to go back to the rest of his group he faced a wall of pitch black scale, a clawed hand across his mouth, and my toothy smile right up against his face telling him, “Don’t scream!”

  To my complete lack of surprise, he screamed. I hadn’t expected that to work, but it would have been nice if it did. Perhaps he just didn’t understand vulgar Tekereteki, but that seemed unlikely. Whatever the reason, not much got past my hand, and no alarm rose. The distant voices continued, speaking a mix of classical and vulgar Tekereteki, but I figured that someone would miss this guy soon enough, and that I should go. So I flipped him around, his struggles doing nothing but amuse me, and pressed him to my chest as I waddled awkwardly on two legs into a nearby glade from which I took off.

  I’d grabbed this guy because his dark skin marked him as more obviously Tekereteki than most of the crew, and because he was wearing much nicer clothes than the average sailor. My hope was that he was an officer of some kind. He turned out to be more clever than some people I’d taken on surprise flights, because he stopped struggling the moment we got above the treetops, correctly recognizing that any freedom he might achieve would be measured in seconds or an eternity, depending on how you looked at it.

  Once we were high and far enough out to sea that no one would hear him I released my grip over his mouth so that I could hold him better. I’d expected him to start talking; threatening me or begging, maybe asking where I was taking him and what I planned to do with him, something like that. Screaming, perhaps. I didn’t expect long stretches of complete silence, peppered with the occasional muted, “Oh, gods! Oh, too high, too high!”

  We flew like that for hours. Night fell, and we were in sight of the dark banks of clouds that hung over Mallin before I spoke to him. Or at least I was; he probably couldn't see a thing.

  “We will be above the main island soon,” I called to him. “It is the rainy season, or so they tell me. I will stay off the coast for as long as I can, but I will need to turn inland soon enough.”

  He was silent again for a long while. When he answered, his voice was thick with fear. “Why tell me? After so many hours? Why tell me now?”

  I thought about it, and answered honestly. “Boredom. You have not even tried to speak to me. I am almost a little offended.”

  “M-my apologies!” He answered quickly, still fearful but with an edge of hope to his voice. “I did not realize that you wished for conversation! What— is that why you have taken me?”

  “Nah. You know what I am, yes?”

  “I— Dragon! You are a dragon! Yes!”

  “Right. And I am helping the city of Karakan. The Council would love to meet you!”

  “You are— this— this is an act of war!”

  “Doubt it.”

  “But— you—!”

  “A dragon grabbing some poor bastard and dumping him on the Palace steps in Karakan is more like an act of God.”

  “Dragons are not gods,” he answered quickly, and much less loudly than we’d been speaking. It sounded rote, a response that had been drilled into him until it became automatic. Then he went silent, very still and stiff in my arms, and I could imagine what was running through his head.

  He didn’t know me. He had no idea how divine I did or didn’t see myself. But he’d just told me that I wasn’t a god, while we were flying a few hundred feet above the sea, more than twenty miles from land.

  I let him stew. I was curious how he’d follow that.

  He stuttered a bit after about a minute of silence, and actually managed a few recognizable words! “I, ah— that is, you—”

  “Relax!” I chuckled. “I know that I am not a goddess. Not more than anyone else, at least. And I am not the one you should worry about. I just handle the delivery.”

  He didn’t have anything to say to that, and we flew in silence until it was time to turn inland. I had some time and wanted to visit the army on my way home, and if I wanted to find them I couldn’t put it off any longer.

  “It is about to get wet and cold. I will try to keep you protected from the rain, but there is only so much I can do, you know?”

  “I— thank you for the warning?”

  “Yeah, no worries.” I flew on until the clouds towered above us. I could see the rain ahead, a gray haze in the air that hid everything beyond. Shadowsight or normal nightvision; it didn’t matter.

  “Do you have a name?” I asked as we approached.

  “What?”

  “Your name. What is it?”

  “S-Semterekene.”

  “All right, uh… Terek. Can I call you Terek? I will ask my friends in the Council not to go too hard on you, as long as you cooperate. If you do not… that is on you. And when we land, which will be soon, do try not to do anything suspicious. The general’s guards are twitchy.”

  “Okay?”

  “You seem like a pretty level headed guy, though. No screaming for hours, or… oh, here comes the rain!”

  After nearly two days in the sun, flying into the rain hanging over the island was like stepping into a cold shower. I hated it.

  So did Instinct. “Turn around!” she whined, but everything and everyone precious to me was inside that constant downpour. I wasn't going to let her childishness keep me from Herald and the others, or from keeping my promises. Besides, it would have been a bitch move to fly some poor bastard hundreds of miles for no reason, no matter which navy he belonged to.

  True to my word, I sheltered him best I could. Rain ran down my hide and hung in the air or blew in from the sides, so it wasn’t perfect. He still got wet. But at least he wasn’t subjected to the constant cold barrage that I was.

  Visibility was crap, but I found the main camp of the Karakani army easily enough. It only took about an hour, since the camp hadn’t moved more than a dozen miles, putting it much closer to the bridge.

  Without all the troops that had moved out, the camp was much smaller. It was still a huge concentration of people, and I didn’t doubt that they were all pretty tightly wound. I decided to do the polite and clever thing, and announced myself with a few low turns above them before landing in the central command section.

  “I am going to drop you now,” I told Terek as I hovered a few feet above the ground. “Do not try to run. You will not like me if I have to chase you.”

  “Drop? Wait—!”

  Then I dropped him. To his credit he landed well, bending his knees and rolling as the confused sentries closed in. With them was a man I recognized: one of General Servalian’s bodyguards.

  “Make sure that my guest doesn’t try to go anywhere, would you?” I asked the sentries before turning to the bodyguard. “Evening, ah… Mersil? Is that right? Is the general awake?”

  The man gave me the faintest hint of a smile, before replying. “Lady Draka. If you’ll wait here, I can see if the general is available.”

  I gave him a look, questioning if he was really going to make the dragon wait, but he didn’t look like he was going to budge and I didn’t care enough to push it. “Sure, yeah. Just move quickly, would you? I don’t like waiting in the rain any more than you do.”

  Two sentries escorted Terek into a nearby tent as I waited, but I didn’t have to wait long before Mersil opened the entrance flaps to Sarvalian’s tent and motioned for me to enter.

  The general was waiting just inside. He was dressed in a simple robe, and by the smell in the air I could tell that I’d interrupted something. “Welcome, Lady Draka. Welcome! Here, please,” he said, gesturing to a hastily arranged pile of blankets and pillows on the ground. He himself took a seat on a tent chair before the pile. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  and get 8 chapters early. You also get all sixty-plus chapters of Splinter Angel, another more classically LitRPG story (coming soon to RR!) and anything else I’m trying out.