Sky City Chronicles

Chapter 4: Stealth Strike

Stealth Strike

I flew low to the ground, staying in gullies and riverbeds as much as I could in order to avoid detection by patrols around the edge of Sky City.

As I made my way closer to the city itself Ironscale's words ringed inside my head, "Remember, these dragons are under the control of Igneous from within Sky City. They are not able to act of their own free will, so harming them does no good to fighting Igneous himself. Only his three generals are not under control, and I believe they are being fooled into going along with his plans. Avoid detection as long as possible, but do not use the invisibility spell unless it is critical you go unnoticed. Igneous has been trained just as I have to see past the spell, and I fear he may also be able to sense the magic as well if he happens to look your direction or get close enough to you. Other than that the mission is a simple one, get in and free the captives, then get out before anyone notices something is wrong."

I landed and ducked under a grove of trees as a group of three scouts flew overhead, watching them go until they disappeared behind the tree line. I then walked back out and took off again, now seeing the tops of the tallest buildings peeking over the tops of the trees in front of me. Once I got within a dracometer of the city the trees thinned down to nothing, and I was forced to land as I peered over the crest of a hill to get my first look at Sky City in person.

The image in Ironscale's vision fire had prepared me for what I was going to see, but seeing the devastation in person made it all seem like I had not seen anything at all. The rubble piles that had littered the streets now took on personality as smoke rose from some and small fires licked at others. The destroyed buildings had seemed like toys broken in a careless action, now bringing back painful memories of my own decimated farm house. I looked from one disaster zone to the next, almost being overwhelmed by the destruction that had wracked the city, until I spied the only building still relatively intact. The Council Hall was the tallest building in the city, reaching over a dozen dragon lengths higher than the others and tipped with an observation ring on a thin spire at the top. Two guards were posted on the platform, eyes keen for anything out of the ordinary, and even with the morning light I could see they had been outfitted to the teeth with weapons and armor.

I ducked back down behind the hill and began the symbols for the invisibility spell, though part of me argued against the action due to my master's warning. The rest of me countered that there was no way I was going to get past the guards at the top of the tower unless I did use the spell, and with reluctance the other half of me backed down. As I moved my claw up to my head I spied a patrol flying towards my position, and I hastily finished the marks just as they flew over me in a wide arc. I tensed as I waited for one of them to see me, but thanks to the spell, none of them even looked twice. I smiled and turned back to the city, now confidant in my ability to get the captives out and lead them to safety without being caught. I lifted off and flew in over the main gates low to the ground so I wouldn't leave a shadow for the guards to see. The spell may make my body invisible, but it still created a shadow for others to see if I wasn't careful, so I stayed low to limit the chance of being spotted.

No one raised the alarm as I touched down at the main entrance to the Council Hall, though I made sure no one was watching as I landed so any noise would be lost in the crackle of falling rubble. I slipped through the opening and looked around the entrance area with wide eyes. The room was larger than my entire home back on the farm, and the pillars supporting the ceiling had to be at least as long as I was, and just as big around. The paintings that had once covered the walls were burned almost into being unrecognizable, but some features still stuck out through the damage. A wing or head would show here, while a foot or favorite book would pop out there, though none of them had escaped the blaze that must have raced through the halls as the city came under attack. I shook my head to remove the distraction, and looked around to try and locate the way down to the dungeons. My mentor had been able to tell me that much before I had left, though he had not known where the entrance was. It took some looking but I finally found the stairs partly hidden behind a pair of columns. The steps showed recent use and I could hear the rattling of chains far below. I took a quick look to make sure no one would bump into me from behind, and started down the steps, sheathing my claws so as not to make excess noise on the stone steps.