Return to Jorgaldur Volume V: Reunion (2)

Allies

Warkmon cursed to himself. He had contacted a shadow, and had seen some corrupted beings attacking the shadow's ones. Therefore, he had decided to question other nearby ones. Normally, the vampire didn't care if the shadows fought each other, but not at that moment. Besides, he had explicitly forbidden it.

None of them knew anything, and he was almost sure they weren't lying to him. Almost. That was strange, so he wanted to observe the attackers in more detail. If he could find out where they came from, the one responsible could be punished. To his surprise, he couldn't contact the shadow anymore. It had disappeared like the other three. He had to contact his father again.

The same two vampires who had investigated the previous disappearance arrived there a few hours later, but they didn't find anything either. There were slight traces of a fight, but that was all. They didn't know that, once again, they were being watched from the sky.

The biggest problem was that the situation got worse as the days went by. In different places, shadows disappeared, or only losts did if there weren't any. Sometimes, they seemed to be getting closer to the city of the Guardians of the North, but, other times, the attacks reached from more distant places.

They didn't know how many or who they were. Also, if they sent a scout alone to investigate, sometimes they disappeared. Soon, there was no choice but to put surveillance on the shadows, or make them retreat to safer places. They couldn't afford to keep losing them.

"The shadows are protected. There're ten of them, I suppose vampires. It's impossible to take them all down at once without them giving a warning," Goldmi reported, at the request of her winged sister. She had seen personally part of it through her eyes.

"Tsk. They're learning. It's the third group in a row," Gjaki lamented. "I knew there were vampires involved in this."

"Shall we just let them be then?" Maldoa resigned.

"It's risky to let them see us. Is there anyone alone?" Eldi asked.

"No. They're all in plain sight of each other, like the two previous ones. They look alert, warned, prepared against a surprise attack. Those vampires would raise the alarm if we attacked. What...!?" the elf was suddenly surprised.

"What's it?" Eldi asked.

"Guardians of the North...! It's Menxolor's group!" she exclaimed, surprised.

"Dad?" Menxilya opened her eyes wide.

"Where? What're they doing?" the drelf was interested.

"I'd say they're passing through. They're not going straight to the shadows and their escort, but will pass close. Their group seems a little tired, but not injured. They'll be in trouble if the losts in the area are sent against them," Goldmi explained.

"How long until they reach them?" Gjaki asked.

"I estimate a little more than an hour. Although, they may realize it sooner," the elf answered.

"We have to help them..." the girl asked.

"Of course, but we have to decide how. Maybe they can even serve as a distraction," Eldi muttered, without a clear plan. However, there was the seed of one.

"Maybe Goldmi can finish off the shadows in the chaos. What's the terrain like?" Gjaki added.

They were determined to help, but they needed more information. They had just given up on eliminating their enemies, but perhaps now there would be an opportunity. However, the priority was to protect their allies. The second priority was not to be discovered.

Over the past few weeks, they had traveled from Source to Source, as new dryads were awakened, and found the teleportation nodes. On each trip, they had taken the opportunity to sow chaos in the enemy ranks. They had attacked any shadow near the Source, and eliminated any lost that were near.

However, the group had always been extremely careful not to be discovered. Sometimes, they had even given up when they couldn't find an easy target. Like a shadow that was inside a cave, or the last ones, which were protected by vampires.

They had been advancing towards their destination, but they had also traveled backwards. While waiting for the search of the dryads to bear fruit, the group could visit other Sources the dryads had already discovered, even if those Sources were in another direction. It was a good way to pass the time, and to distract their enemies.

Now, they had a somewhat more complicated problem, although they couldn't abandon their allies. Luckily, that could even confuse their enemies more.

"Something is approaching from above," a guardian pointed out.

"Is it white? Isn't it very strange for a corrupted being?" another one asked, confused.

"Wait, don't shoot! It could be an ally," Menxolor warned. Although it was too far away to see it clearly, he remembered that the bird that was with Goldmi was that color.

"It's not like we could hit it. It's too high... Be careful! It's dropped something!" another warned.

They extended mana shields, but the object that hit them did so with barely any force. It ended up bouncing and reaching the ground, rolling slightly.

"It looks like paper," one observed.

"Could it be a trap?"

"Can you send one of your puppets."

"Of course."

The strange artificial being was the size of a rat. It reached the ball that looked like crumpled paper, and hit it. Nothing happened. It pushed the paper, which rolled, but there wasn't any reaction either.

With great effort and concentration, the puppeteer managed to open it. It wasn't easy to accomplish that task through the small legs of her puppet. The result was a few sheets of crumpled paper, and a stone inside for weight. Nothing that looked threatening.

Finally, they decided to approach, although with caution. However, there wasn't the slightest trace of mana or miasma on those sheets, apart from what might have been imbued during the fall or those brief moments. It was Menxolor himself who hurriedly ran to catch them, as he had discovered from afar a strange drawing.

A smile formed on his lips. He recognized that drawing, and it was more evident up close. It was his daughter's. So, with some anxiety, he unfolded the papers. Although they were still crumpled, their content could be read.

"The other group is nearby. There're enemies in the direction we're going, and they have a plan. We're the bait," he announced, with a smile. For once, they were the hunters and not the prey, even if they were the bait.

"What do we have to do?" one of his companions asked.

"Rest a little, and then we'll change direction. They've drawn us a small map. Look. Let's see if we can get our position," he called to his companions.

They all crowded around him to look at the schematic map drawn on one of the sheets. At the same time, he read and explained the content of the plan.

It wasn't very detailed, and there was ample room for improvisation and adaptation. However, the general lines were clear.

A drawing on the ground served to confirm to his allies that they were in agreement. The goshawk saw it and transmitted the answer, and a Wind Blade served as confirmation on her part. Now, all that was left was to regain strength, and start.