Wings of Fire: Nighthawk

Chapter 29: Mudwing Palace

Nighthawk and Deathbringer set out early in the morning to the mudwing palace. To his surprise there wasn't an army of Nightwings waiting to execute him. Deathbringer kept his end of the deal, so far. The two flew when it was still dark out to avoid detection. After circling around for a few minutes, that found an unguarded tunnel they could enter through, so they silently landed and snuck inside.

"Alright.. you know the way through here.." Nighthawk whispered. Deathbringer led the way, staying silent and treading lightly through the halls of the palace. Not many lanterns or torches were lit, so they had plenty of cover. It was surprising to see how clean and tidy everything was. He expired it to be a tad more muddy, considering it was inhabited by mudwings. Both knew small talk while they were on this mission was a bad idea, as it could get them caught.

"Guards ahead." Deathbringer whispered. Nighthawk nodded, staying hidden in a shadow with his companion. A trio of mudwings walked past them, chatting with each other. They looked tired. If it was necessary to take them out, it would be easy. After they passed, the two Nightwings paced down the hall quietly. Another patrol of guards came towards them, so they hid while it passed before going forward.

The halls of the palace were winding and a little confusing. It also didn't help that everything just looked like mud. Maybe a plant lie here or there, but it was hard to keep track of their movements in case they needed to bail. Suddenly Deathbringer stopped.

"What?" Nighthawk whispered.

"Quiet.." Deathbringer whispered back. The two stopped and held still. Now he understood. Footsteps, and lots of them. Something big was happening, but they weren't sure what. Deathbringer signaled for him to keep moving, Nighthawk followed. Soon they found the dungeons, but two guards were placed on the entrance. Nighthawk drew his crossbow, hiding in the shadows. He watched Deathbringer shake his head and put a talon on the weapon, lowering it down slowly. The assasin reached into a pouch and produced two clubs.

"Take this, you get one I'll get the other." He whispered. Nighthawk nodded, taking one club. Deathbringer climbed the wall silently. Nighthawk was a little surprised to see how effective the assasin moved, fast but silent. He stalked towards his target before crouching down. Deathbringer was above his. After the room was clear, Nighthawk pounced on the first, smacking him on the top of the head with his club while Deathbringer leaped down and slammed into his target.

"Well, that was easy." Deathbringer said confidently. "Help me drag these guys into the dungeon, we can hide them there." He opened the wooden door before dragging one downstairs quietly. Nighthawk followed suit. Once they were down there, he used his night vision to see. He was guessing Deathbringer did the same as they carried the two mudwings into a secluded spot.

"Hm. You're good at this." Nighthawk whispered.

"I know, been trained for it all my life." Deathbringer said quietly.

"I've had years of combat training, and it seems no matter how hard or much I train, I still lose those that matter to me.." Nighthawk grumbled, starting to look for Lobster's cell.

"I lost someone too, on my first mission."

"It happens." Nighthawk said. "Sorry to hear."

"It was my mother, completely my fault. But I had to complete the task.. it didn't go as planned but I got what we needed."

"Hm..what was it?"

"That is classified." Deathbringer huffed. "And besides, if I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Weren't able to last night."

"Yeah, whatever." Deathbringer snorted as they walked through the dungeons. He found Lobster's cell, the red seawing easily recognizable.

"Lobster.." Nighthawk said soflty, walking to the cell. "Mate, you alright?"

"Mm.." Lobster groaned. Upon further examination, the seawing was in poor condition. He had been beaten, starved as well it looked like. Many cuts on his scales too, but they had healed.

"Fuck.. We're getting you out of here." Nighthawk huffed. He looked at Deathbringer, seeing the Nightwing suddenly looked a little shocked. "What?"

"Nothing. Seen this dragon before. Huh."

"Right then. We need to open this, but how?" Nighthawk asked. As soon as Deathbringer opened his mouth to speak, they heard the dungeon door open. Heavy footsteps walked down the stairs.

"You better not be lying." A deep raspy, angry and hate filled voice asked. "Otherwise I'll crush you myself."

"I'm not." Another said. Both were female, Nighthawk could tell. "We captured him recently. He is all yours, I know how much you love these things."

"Moons.." Deathbringer muttered. "That sounds like Burn and Moorhen.."

"Then we need to unlock this door, now.." He hissed. He started to find a way to open it. "The keys..one of the guards had the keys.." He walked towards the guards.

"Nighthawk, there's no time." Deathbringer growled, grabbing his tail and yanking him backwards. The footsteps got closer. He saw a light. There wasn't any time. Deathbringer pulled him into the shadows as Burn walked up with a torch. She looked at Lobster, letting out an evil and excited laugh.

"Oh wow, you weren't lying. I'll certainly take this pathetic freak of a dragon!"

'No' Nighthawk thought. He started to get up, but Deathbringer pulled him back by his shoulder, shaking his head. Nighthawk stopped, watching in sadness. He knew he couldn't take both of them. Moorhen unlocked the door and let Burn inside. She grabbed the red seawing before shaking him.

"Hm, I can't wait to stuff this creature." Burn grinned. He could see how damaged and scarred she was in the light. It was horrible.

"I'm sure it will look wonderful." Moorhen sighed. Nighthawk could tell she was unhappy with this alliance, but he had read of their terms. It didn't matter right now. Burn and Moorhen started to walk out of the dungeons, taking his friend with them. Once they were out, he just stared at the empty cell, taking slow deep breaths. He was angry, he failed. Again. Now Lobster was in the clutches of Burn, doomed to being murdered and stuffed as if he were a trophy.

Unless.. Nighthawk were to follow and save him. It was the only way. He knew what he had to do.

"Deathbringer, I'm going to follow them."