Transported: A Wings of Fire Story

An Eventful Waste Of Time

Everyone stood outside of the large sandstone-made structure as the cool winds of the desert night whipped by.

"Alright, here's the plan," Daniel started, wasting little time.
"We'll split into two groups, one of them will go gather the Eye while the rest of us keep a lookout to make sure everything goes smoothly"

He paused before looking around, "Python, Wolf, Crimson, Ghost. You're with me, we'll be keeping a lookout, and no, it's not up for discussion." Daniel said as he turned to everyone else.

"Scorch, Subzero, Karma, Phoenix, Deadlock, you'll be going in to get the Eye, since Scorch knows the layout, it should be pretty easy as long as you stay silent."

He stopped for a moment, "Is that clear? We don't want to spend more than an hour here, maximum, so let's move!"

The others nodded without much hesitation as Qibli led his group into the place first. Meanwhile, Daniel took to the sky overhead.

The rest of his team followed as they landed on top of the structure.
It appeared that there was a large open courtyard in the centre of the place from which one could fly down and enter the Stronghold without an issue.

By one of the back walls, there was a semi-large golden door which was guarded by two fierce-looking Sandwings.

Each one was armed with a sharp and shiny spear, which glinted under the dark glow of the moons above.

'Well, at least Thorn was smart enough to leave some guards here to protect the place... Though I think she underestimated us...'
Daniel thought as he glanced around the rest of the area.

Apart from the two Sandwings beside the large door, the rest of the courtyard and everything in sight were empty.

It was almost like the Stronghold was abandoned.
However, it was then that Willow pointed something else out.

"Hey, look, down there!" she called in a hushed tone as her claw pointed to another door which had opened up.

Suddenly, about a dozen or more armed guards gathered in the courtyard, led by two Sandwings, and after studying them for a moment, Daniel had a hunch about who they were.

"Guards!" One of them, called the dragons, snapped to attention.
"Queen Thorn has ordered us to protect this Stronghold with our lives against anyone who might intrude."

The second dragon next to him spoke to the crowd.
"Exactly, and as Her Majesty's subordinates, you are expected to defend everything this Stronghold has to offer. Are there any questions?"

There was a silence before a guard piped up.
"Commander Smolder, why would the Heathens want to attack the Stronghold? What is there to take?"

The larger dragons paused for a moment.
"In all honesty, it is unclear what the Heathens' motives are, that is being investigated as we speak... It appears they're not after treasure. However, they have attacked both the Ice and Sea palaces without warning, so we must be on the lookout."

With that, the dragon nodded affirmatively, but it didn't stop the older dragon from speaking again.

"With that being said, however, Six Claws and I have organised a plan in case they do attack, all we have to do is-"

There was a loud crash which shook the building before he could finish.
Daniel stumbled backwards a little and tripped over Willow's unseen tail.

This nearly sent him over the edge of the tall castle wall, luckily being caught by Moon at the last second, who pulled him back on all fours. If he did fall, it wouldn't be much of a problem since he could fly, though he was grateful not be free-falling.