Pieces of Eight

Chapter 16

"My lady!" the page cried as he bolted up the path, careening straight towards her. "My lady! An urgent raven from Verrina!"

Hissing slightly, Urai simply waved a hand to dismiss the small knot of people who were also standing around her command center. The tent was generously sized, but eight people still filled it well enough. She'd split from the dual party under Andor and Verrina as they departed from Asfic Higj to escort her Falcon, Sam, deeper into the woods to make for Paradiim to recover their wayward Gryphon. Now, she was swiftly marching after Andor and Verrina, who were making impressive time, but apparently, suffering for their efforts. Rounding the edge of the table the better intercept the frantic page, Urai snarled to herself, "What fucking use is an army of mages if none of them use magic?"

The page reached her seconds later, one arm outstretched with a rolled piece of parchment offered to her. The other, he braced on his knee as he bent over panting with the effort of his sprint. Urai ignored him in favor of inspecting the paper she'd been handed. The little trickle of magic that Verrina left as signature was there, as well as a white feather tucked into the folds of the rolled parchment; the message was authentic.

First unrolling and then unfolding the paper, Urai slowly turned away from the page and idly paced back and forth across the entrance to the command tent, drinking in the words on the page at first rapidly and then again slowly. Their party was being attacked on the road, Verrina explained: by now it was certainly apparent to their enemy that Urai had only recalled two of her three battalions, and that the third was still outside the borders of Wellsbridge. Verrina had engaged in difficult and costly magic that protected the rest of the army from attack, but they had sustained significant losses in the two attacks they had suffered prior to her spells being erected. As she read, Urai could feel her lip beginning to curl in a snarl. None of this would do at all.

"Stay here," she instructed the page, who likely wasn't going anywhere anyway as he clutched at a stitch in his side. Urai retreated to her tent, where she burned the report from Verrina over a candle that sat on her desk. Then, she seated herself and penned a reply, which she folded and rolled in the same manner as Verrina. If the woman was stretched so thin protecting the army that she could not use magic, Andor was likely assisting her, meaning that he could receive no communications through supernatural means, either. The message would have to be sent the mundane way. Fortunately, Verrina's ravens were smart birds.

Urai did take a moment to drip a bit of wax between the folds of the paper before handing it to the page with orders to see it off immediately. It was not as good as a proper seal, but it might discourage spies and other dishonest individuals from peeking. Huffing out an angry breath, Urai sank back into her chair, maille jingling as she moved, and surveyed the map laid out in front of her.

Several small sculptures dotted the map: eight of them, each in the shape of a different bird of prey. The various kingdoms had all been outlined and filled in with a different color; cities and landmarks had been marked in sharp black stars and labeled neatly. Inside the dark green splotch of forest that also housed Asfic Higj nested the Gryphon, right on top of the black star labeled Paradiim. Not far from it sat the Falcon, where Sam had bedded down for a bit in an attempt to wait out the wayward Grpyhon. Across the border in Wellsbridge lurked the Raven and the Eagle, where Verrina and Andor were struggling north along the country's eastern border in an attempt to reach them. Higher up was where the Vulture lay, floating back and forth across the sharp blue line of the river as Sabina struggled to hold the bridge that Diana continued to badger them about. Her own Osprey stood next to a mighty Hawk; Grys was marching with her to reinforce Sabina. Scattered here and there were other pieces, usually likened as swallows or sparrows or robins or other such common birds, denoting where certain squadrons had been deployed. A few extra were with Sabina; several more were tagging along with Andor and Verrina; a handful were with herself and Grys. Two remained with Sam. One remained in Knotte. The defiant pillar of Asfic Higj stood alone, unguarded, and contested. And off to the side, not yet placed on a map, was the figure of a Phoenix, wings raised in flight, magnificent as it rose out of a base carved like flame. The Phoenix had not yet been put into play.