The Zero Hour | #Wattys2016

Chapter 17 - Palladium (Part 2)

The Chief stood up and drew a large shaft from behind his throne. At the end of the shaft was a large spearhead with a black-stained tip. It looked particularly deadly. Turning to Bianca, Chief Penn resumed his authoritative tone. "Bianca, I am going to prepare for battle. You are to accompany Captain Bastian and bring Amadeus and his friends back to White Harrow. You leave the moment the Captain has given his troops deployment orders. I and the other captains will lead the troops to White Harrow tonight. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir," Bianca responded with a salute.

"And don't forget to return their weapons. They must as well make themselves useful when the fighting starts."

Leading them out, Bianca brought Amadeus and his companions to the Aviary, where most of the Eadren were stabled. The air smelled different in the Aviary – a distinct blend of one part bird and one part hay. Near the entrance, they found Bastian. He was fully dressed in his Avianath armor and feeding his Eadren from the palm of his hand. "There you go Bob, that's a good boy." He patted the Eadren lovingly with his other hand.

"Your Eadren's name is Bob?" Rei asked playfully. "Does he have a last name? Bob the terrible? Bob the mighty? Bob the destroyer?"

"Told you we should have thrown him down the cliff," Bianca reminded her brother. He ignored the both of them.

"Amadeus, can I have a word with you?" Bastian stood up and wiped his hands on a piece of cloth. "Alone." He added as he gestured for Amadeus to follow him outside of the Aviary.

"I'll be right back," Amadeus called out to his companions and followed Bastian out. They walked past the rows and rows of wooden posts where Eadrens had been leashed to. Hay cluttered the floor to serve as warm bedding for the animals. Wooden buckets at the side of each post served as drinking troughs for the Eadren. As they passed, the Eadrens cooed at them and flapped their wings.

Soon both Bastian and Amadeus were back outside in the cold. The winds blew strongly against them, and the already cold atmosphere felt even colder. Amadeus shivered; it felt like someone had dumped a bucket of snow down his tunic.

"That Rokuth with you," Bastian started. "Why does he call you master?"

Amadeus glanced at Bastian questioningly. Why is he interested in One? "Well, I found him in the Rokuth town near here. He was battling in the arena, and losing badly. When I found out he was going to die, I couldn't just let things be y'know? So I traded for him with Chief Dabos of the Rokuth."

"Chief Dabos? He does love his 'biznas'..." grinned Bastian.

Amadeus laughed and nodded. "Yes, he is quite the character. He told me if I ever went back to his town, he would crush me."

"Well, we have something in common then. He said the same thing to me too. What got him so provoked?"

"Well, since I traded for One, there was no one to finish the fight with the other Rokuth. So, he threw me into the arena. I guess he wasn't happy when I survived."

"You beat a Rokuth in a one-on-one fight?" Bastian raised his voice in disbelief as he eyeballed Amadeus from head to toe. The skinny commoner standing next to him defeating a Rokuth? Even veteran Avianath riders were not foolish enough to go one-on-one with a Rokuth. They were born and bred for battle. Rokuths were a standard three to one formation – every Avianath rider knew that.

"Well... yes. I had to. If I didn't, what would happen to all the commoners in White Harrow? They would be wiped out."

Bastian pursed his lips. Amadeus had said it with such sincerity and simplicity. He just had to do it, so he did. It was a fact. What an interesting commoner. Moments passed as they walked silently past a row of tents, leaving two sets of footprints in the snow. A group of children stared oddly at Amadeus as they walked past. Not many outsiders came to the Jagged Peaks, and Amadeus stood out like a sore thumb. They whispered to each other in hushed tones with curiosity in their eyes.