This choice: Sneak into the portal chamber • Go Back...Chapter #7Subtlety, or not... by: Bmao   "Its not my nature, but I suppose that we should try and cause as little disturbance as possible," said Gil. "I don't want to call in troops from the front lines to get me to the portal, not at the expense of the Malthinae breaking through..."
"All right then, now you're going to have to trust me on this. The first thing you have to do is drop all your weapons, every single one, and Drak, you're going to have to put this muzzle on," said Thanatos.
"What!?" Gil snapped.
Please, just trust us on this... we have to make them think you're our prisoner said Samoht.
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Gil surveyed the entrance to the weyr with a worried gaze. The normally gleaming halls of Angelos Weyr had been faded it seemed, not up to their usual luster, perhaps reflecting the changing of the guard and subtly protesting at the traitors. A pair of armored dragons stood guard at the entrance, watching menacingly.
Halt!! Who goes there!! roared a guard.
We have captured Drakreanor and Giljaras. And have come to take him to the dungeons... cried Samoht. His cold tone was so convincing that even though Gil already knew that this was but a show, he still felt his skin crawl. It brought up too many memories of his imprisonment by the Malthinae when he was a boy. He couldn't help but have doubt creep into his mind, of whether Thanatos and Samoht truly were loyal to Lord Ironwing and Erigoth, or one of conspirators he was pretending to be. Having been disarmed with his arms tied behind his back along with Drak's jaw muzzled did not ease his fears, though it did create the impression that the two of them truly were headed to the dungeon.
In all honesty, had Gil been part of the guard contingent of dragons and humans at the gate, he would have immediately suspected that this was a set up. Because if anybody had done any research about him, there would be no way that Gil would have surrendered so peacefully and meekly. Heck, they even seemed to know it.
Yet perhaps these guards were not doing this job by choice, that they had been blackmailed by Alduin into doing his bidding and thus would turn the other cheek hopefully.
"Thanatos..." cried a lieutenant. "If you don't mind, perhaps I can take command of the prisoner from here..."
"Excuse me? Last I checked a mere lieutenant does not outrank a dragon rider," answered Thanatos cooly.
"Normally, yes, that would be the case, yet as son of the deposed Lord Alucand the council has reason to suspect your loyalty. Therefore, my soldiers will escourt the prisoners from here..."
Well, there goes our great and intricate plan… said Samoht through thought speech, as if he didn’t believe it would succeed anyhow.
No!! Lieutenant Garen was supposed to let me escourt you two!! cried Thanatos using thought speech.
Perhaps he's not quite as loyal as you'd thought he'd be!! Gil figured. He knew that he'd should have known better than to think that nothing would go wrong; in fact very rarely did they ever go right.
The council must have bought him out while I was speaking with you!! he echoed.
Then by the Ancestors do we do? cried Drak.
Thanatos was keeping his gaze impassive, yet Gil could see the anxiety in his eyes.
At that moment, Thanatos, like an old-style cavalryman, turned sideways upon Samoht's mount, whipped out a pistol from his holster and shot the officer right between the eyes, who still had that sneer on his face as he fell over dead. Before any of the other soldiers could react, Samoht breathed a wide breath of flame, covering the entire chamber in choking smog and eliciting screams of pain as humans were caught on fire. If there was any lingering doubts as to whose side Thanatos and Samoht belonged to, those doubts were gone now.
"Damn!! I didn't think you had it in you Thanatos!!" Gil couldn't help but exclaim amidst the sudden Pandemonium. Indeed, Thanatos and Samoht were usually so dour and went out of their way to conform to the rules. He'd never suspected that he could do something so spontaneous.
Save your congratulations for later!! cried Samoht as he hauled the muzzle off, Now you two must make for the portal!
What about the two of you? cried Drak. A part of Gil wanted to stay and fight it out, to punish the traitors of Draconia.
“I assure you they shall not capture us so easily, unlike the two of you, Samoht and I have lived our entire lives at the weyr, so we shall be able to elude them yet. No more wasting time!! Go now!!”
By this time, the rebel soldiers had gotten their wits about them and had taken cover behind the pillars and ancient statues of the Dragonlords of Ages past.
Gil!! Keep down!! roared Drak, twisting his body sideways. The rounds made unsettling, wet splats as they impacted upon Drak’s hide, and Gl winced as he growled in displeasure. Fortunately, rifle rounds were only designed to kill humans; not dragons, and more often than not Draconian infantry were less likely to be armed with heavy weaponry designed to kill dragons compared with the Malthinae. yet when the two guard dragons had come forward that changed their mind. Drak staggered out of the fight toward the portal room.
It was strangely quiet as the two wound their way through the wide corridors. While the fight back at the main landing had only intensified, Thanatos having probably called over his own loyalists by now, nobody contested their move toward the portal, to the point where Gil was suspecting a trap.
This is strange, you would think that they would have the portal guarded 24/7... said Gil.
Normally I would agree, but perhaps there is something bigger at work. Perhaps Alduin suspected that we would come to the aid of Lord Erigoth and Leblanc, and thus is itching for a confrontation as well… thought Drak.
“Or maybe that despite the conspiracy they still need all the best troops at the front… I mean, they're not going to be able to get any sort of armistice with the Malthinae” answered Gil, “Yet there’s no time to dwell on that. Thanatos won’t be able to keep off the diversion forever. Trap or not we’ve got to make our way to Skyrim at full speed.”
He did wish that Thanatos had thought to bring Gil an extra set of gear so that when he arrived he’d be able to defend himself with more than just his magic. Being without a gun or at least a sword made Gil feel profoundly naked.
Yet there was no way to help that. To their relief, the portal room was completely empty, and Drak ascended the narrow (at least narrow for a dragon) suspended steps that led to the huge stone arch. The vortex glowed with an ethereal blue, making an electric whirring sound as they approached.
“No use waiting around then, well, you ready to go Drak?” asked Gil.
He curved his gaze down to see Drak uttering a brief prayer, -there are no deities but the Ancestors. May the Ancestors, the Great Dragons Above guide us and protect us all…
With that Drak jumped head first into the portal.
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