Sons of Ironstorm: Book 5 - Griffon's War

Chapter 5: Dark Missives and Fel Intent

"Though shattered, the forces of Darkness were still formidable.

And they were still driven by their dark and terrible purpose.

They swiftly regrouped after the closing of the gate to the Abyss,

Striking out swiftly over the seas to land unopposed

On the southern reaches of the largest continent.

Here they would find the greatest part of their enemy's strength.

And they would utterly destroy it!"

Author unknown

The lean figure in black on black leather let the gloved hand holding the communication crystal drop from close to its masked face back to its side to stare off into the blood-soaked darkness.

[Our orders?] a taut voice asked from the nearby shadows.

[We've been cut loose,] the lean figure replied in a hoarse whisper as if speaking was somehow difficult.

[Cut loose?] Another figure in black on black stepped out of the shadows a pace or two before coming to a halt, its voice marking it as the one that had asked about orders. [There's no extraction back to Maedorin?]

[No.] The first figure slipped the communication crystal back into a utility pouch on its belt. [We're to use mundane travel to get back to demon-held positions.]

Another figure appeared from the opposite side shadows, stepping over the twisted and mangled body of what used to be a human to do so.

[Do we even know what we hold on this continent?] they asked, their voice marking them as female. The first figure looked over at her and silently shook their head.

[We were advancing in the east on the island continent,] the second figure said even as more of the black on black individuals stepped into the pale light the first had stood in until there were a good two dozen of them. [And a significant vanguard was sent by the masters against the Wielder city to the west, on the other side of the mountains.]

[Tal Morun,] the female supplied as she pulled out a small device and began using it to clean the human blood off her gloved hands.

[Even with additional reinforcements, the eastern contingent will be several days taking the island continent and the larger land mass to its north,] a fourth spoke up to say. [We could fight across the peninsula held by both human forces and those tjor'riin that survived their initial attempts to conquer this part of the continent. Only to wait for our own forces to arrive on the eastern coast.]

[Or we cross the mountains and join up with the vanguard at Tal Morun,] the second speaker suggested. [Shorter distance.]

[But we'd still have humans and centaurs to fight through to get there,] the fourth speaker pointed out. [Last reports showed both were resisting our forces with some success following the discovery of ...]

Abruptly the first figure held up a hand. The gesture instantly commanded silence, the entire group around it falling silent to peer intently at it.

[Is this location secure?] it asked in a hoarse whisper.

[Affirmative,] the first figure to appear out of the shadows indicated. [Nothing that isn't a demon is alive within the castle's perimeter.]

[Scouts.] The hand dropped to quickly stab towards four apparently random pairs of figures. [Give me a path out of here.]

The indicated figures inclined their heads in acknowledgement before turning and disappearing into the darkness.