Veil of Shadows

Chapter 32. Dragon Cat

"Sir, the armor is done."

Shadow looked up from his planning. "The armor you commissioned the blacksmiths to make for the wyvern." The guard elaborated quickly, and Shadow nodded.

"The blacksmiths would appreciate if you would come and survey it." The guard said finally, and Shadow sighed. Right smack in the middle of planning for an all-out war.

"Tell them I will be there in ten minutes time." Shadow said irritably, and the guard inclined his head slightly before leaving the room. Shadow turned back to the plans he had laid out on the desk.

"As I was saying, we're severely outnumbered by Notch's forces. We need to find a circumstance in which their numbers count for nothing." Shadow said to the Captain of the Guard.

"Sir, I was thinking of a David-and-Goliath move. If we can't fight the entire army, why not strike down the part that commands the army, leaving them in disarray?" The Captain replied.

"Because Notch's castle will be far too well guarded for our siege tactics to be effective." Shadow explained, and the Captain paused for a moment, trying to think up an idea that would counter it.

"Say we cut off trade routes to Notch's castle, so that no supplies comes in or goes out. Eventually they run out of food supplies, so their have a choice in either dying or surrendering." The Captain said.

"That could take years, considering the provisions they could have stockpiled. We don't have years, and every second we waste is a second the main forces of Notch's army get closer." Shadow replied.

"If the main threat is Notch's army, then why don't we find a way to knock them out of the game?" The Captain asked, and Shadow pondered that for a moment.

"We go back to the point that our forces would be severely outnumbered, and if we plan to go through with this, we need to find a circumstance in which their numbers count for nothing." Shadow repeated.

"Notch wouldn't be foolish enough to send his entire army to fight us. More likely, he would split it." The Captain mused.

"Unless he couldn't send orders because his messengers are stuck at a blockade we place around the trade routes." Shadow said, his tone almost defeated. They were going in circles through the same ideas.

"Why not just kill Notch?" Salia said from her position by the doorway.

Shadow whirled around, surprised by her presence. He hadn't heard her open the door. "That would result in the army...wait...without a leader, the army would have no commands to follow." He said, more to himself than Salia.

The Captain's eyes twinkled, and he said "They would have to appoint a new King - hopefully a better one. But I don't think that King would take kindly to us killing his predecessor."

"Most likely he would declare war on us." Shadow muttered.

"Even more likely than that, he would thank us for getting rid of a tyrant." Salia said, her tone implying that it was the obvious choice. Shadow paused for a moment to take in that suggestion.

"I know what we'll need to do." He whispered, and quickly scribbled orders down on a piece of paper. Handing it to the Captain, he said "Relay this to the Generals and tell them it takes effect immediately."

The Captain saluted and left the room.

Shadow moved from his place at the desk and teleported to the blacksmith sector, where a man was waiting for him. "Lord Shadow." He said, bowing his head.

"You asked for me to survey the armor?" Shadow questioned, and the blacksmith nodded and gestured for Shadow to follow, and he did so.

Soon, they reached a domed room that held an enormous armor stand. It was absolutely huge. "The materials you requested were used, and we double checked the dimensions of the wyvern to fit the armor."

Shadow nodded approvingly as he scanned the armor for any possible weak points. He found one place where the iron seemed thinner than in other places and pointed it out to the blacksmith.

"You don't need to worry about that, trust me." The blacksmith said, a hint of a grin on his face. Shadow nodded and scanned the rest of the armor for cracks or missing pieces.

"Looks perfect. Can you get it on Perfidus as soon as possible?" Shadow asked, and the blacksmith nodded, saying "As soon as we make a small addition to the armor."

The crack of a whip echoed through the labyrinth of hallways, making Shadow look up.

"What was that?" He asked the blacksmith, already moving toward the sound. "I hope for your sake that it's not a person on the receiving end of that whip." The blacksmith looked nervous.

"It's the wyvern. It completely destroyed one of our creations, so an acquaintance of mine is teaching it a lesson." The blacksmith replied quietly, and Shadow stiffened.

"I don't believe I authorized that lesson." He said quietly.

The blacksmith shook his head and said "You didn't. He chose to do it himself." Before Shadow could stop himself, he was running towards the sound of whip.

Flinging the door open, Shadow's face went blank as he took in the scene. Perfidus was huddled against the wall, several lash marks running down the length of his body. One crossed his eye, which was almost swollen shut.

The man wielding the whip was on the ground before he could even realize that Shadow was there.

"WHAT THE NETHER DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" Shadow roared, and the man flinched before replying quickly "T-The wyvern...it broke m-my-"

"DO I LOOK AS IF I CARE ABOUT THAT?" He bellowed, barely restraining himself from throwing punches. The man dropped the whip and whispered "N-No, sir."

"What made you think it was acceptable to whip the wyvern?" Shadow growled, easing the pressure on the man's shoulders so that he could move a little easier.

"It's an animal, sir. I assumed that y-you wouldn't mind." The man answered softly. At first, Shadow didn't reply. Then, slowly, a grin spread across his face, making the man uneasy.

"It is indeed an animal. An enormous animal, with enormous wings, and enormous claws and fangs that are strong enough to crush bone." Shadow said, and the man's eyes widened slightly in fear.

"Perfidus." Shadow said, turning to the wyvern. It lowered its head slightly, acknowledging Shadow's presence. Giving the wyvern a feral grin, Shadow placed a hand on its head.

"Show him how loud you can roar." Shadow said, and Perfidus gladly obliged.

~

Several guards stationed outside the door jumped a foot in the air upon hearing a deafening roar. Recognizing it as the wyvern Shadow had tamed, they flung the door open.

They found a terrified blacksmith, a very amused looking wyvern, and an oddly smug Shadow.

"Everything alright in here?" The first guard asked, and Shadow merely waved a hand. "Everything's quite alright. As you were." He said, a hint of a grin on his face. Confused, the guards went back to their posts.

Shadow looked down at the man and said "The next time you're displeased with Perfidus, please confide in me before taking action. You're lucky you're still in one piece."

Perfidus let out a rumbling growl, as if to prove Shadow's point.

"Oh, and I'll be taking that," Shadow knelt down and picked up the whip. "No sense in having you running around with the thing." He added, more to himself than the man.

The man nodded vigorously, and Shadow stalked from the room, leaving Perfidus alone with the man. Perfidus looked to the man and let out a sound that was almost like a purr.

"What are you, a cat?" The man grumbled.