Valin (Book 3 of the White Lily Trilogy)- first draft

Chapter 30- Painful Extraction

Sorry if this seems like a long chapter, I hated to do it as two really short ones. 

Dakelo didn't care if Grey Paw protested, in hearing those words he put on a sudden burst of speed to reach the top of the next hill. When he got his head over and beheld the sight be breathed a complete sigh of relief.

They were exactly where they said they would be. There was the northern side of the Opikina forest, the Ghrali Lake could be seen glinting, just inside the forests' rim. The landscape here was just as hilly and the encampment stretched from the northern tip up onto the nearby hill, giving them a vantage point looking down at the one bit of flat land below.

He was surprised to see tents laid out, for he half expected them to just be simply sleeping outside on the ground. Between the large tents, he could see all manners of creatures passing to and fro, most of them a considerable size. He saw a few giants, wolves, hinovers, grass serpents, enough for an army worth.

Within the hillside, behind the makeshift camp, it appeared the effort had been put into carving a great cave into the hills. It was apparent to Dakelo it was not natural due to the size and near perfect shape. It was big enough to certainly hold the king and queen, plus several others. "Head to the cave." He ordered once Froyza had caught up. With no other words, they began to do the final leg of the journey with a weight off their shoulders. For many of the nights, he doubted they would even reach the camp, that something would fall foul on their journey. But they made it, though not all of them. That final thought clouded the mood somewhat. He shall make sure that Fire Tongue's name is honoured through the songs of the offspring if they all live to survive.

They were easily spotted approaching the camp. It was situated in such an ideal location that any who ran across the flat lands in front of them, be it beast or human, would be spotted a mile off. The only surprise could come from behind, but they would have to pass through either the forest or traverse a high, rocky landscape, neither of which would be ideal to any human.

The commotion started to flare up, voices shouting, pointing, creatures ran towards them to greet them. Froyza ran forward and demanded they allowed them through without any hassle. Dakelo also wanted to minimise the time eyes were upon Isi's bandaged, tired body. The last thing all these creatures needed was a blow to their hope in seeing her so broken.

"Their Majesties wait at the back." One rough-voiced creature spoke up before Dakelo could even ask. He nodded his thanks in the direction of the voice, not even seeing what species it was. Just the final minute of running, that's all it was then his job was done. That is all he repeated in his mind, to stop himself crashing to the floor in pure exhaustion. The words spread faster than he could run as by the time they reached the cave entrance, everyone inside had already poured out. The Queen was the first to emerge, almost leaping out in her desperation, the King, the four lords, the Gix and many others followed.

"Your Majesties," Dakelo wheezed, as he finally came to a stop. He went to bow his front legs in respect, but that was the final straw as his legs gave in and he landed on his belly. Grey Paw exclaimed from his back as she and Isi were almost thrown off in the process. Many ran to the group, shouting, waving their arms about as they tried to speak to Dakelo but he didn't hear. He had reached his goal and his body had finally reached its limit. The darkness already crept into the corner of his vision and his breath wheezed as if he had a huge snake crushing his chest in. He wished he could keep awake; to explain everything that happened, about the humans, about Valin and, more importantly, Isi's dire condition. He hoped that the exhaustion did not keep him out of it for too long.

The dreams that came with his passing out were not kind to him. He kept hearing screams, not of panic but one in great pain. Despite the horrific sound he knew he wasn't enough to scare him awake, for even when asleep he still felt his body ache terribly. He looked around him but all he saw was complete darkness.