Part 19: A Noble Attempt

*How terrible!* Raina hissed. *We've got to call Indyana!*

"Right," Krisr said quietly. He pulled open his bag and located the emergency signalling crystal they were given. He closed his hand around it and concentrated on the message he needed to send. Indyana! Poachers, two days up the mountain, in a grassy canyon. They have captured at least one griffin, and they have a mage. We need help!

The crystal pulsed bright red for a moment, showing that the message had been sent.

*Now what?* Raina asked.

"There are too many of them for us to fight," Krisr said. "We'll have to watch them until Indyana arrives. Sorry, children, but this means no goats for dinner."

*You are just going to stand here?* Dracstan demanded.

"Well, in case you haven't noticed, they have a mage. Although Raina is strong, I don't know how strong that mage is, and I can't take on all those other men alone, and you, my friend, are not large enough yet to be much help."

Dracstan glared, but he knew the human was right. Still, seeing foul humans capturing innocent creatures and trying to enslave them was gnawing at him. He angrily coiled himself and shoved pebbles around with the tip of his tail.

If I were larger, they would all be dead, he growled to himself.

*Oh no...* Raina suddenly breathed. They looked up and saw that the men were packing up much of their camp. *They must be planning to move on in the morning... or tonight!*

"Indyana won't be able to get here in time," Krisr muttered. "Who knows where they are going... probably to sell their wares to the richest merchant. We've got to try and help those creatures down there."

*But Krisr, you said yourself that we aren't strong enough to fight them,* Raina Lynn observed.

Krisr pondered this for a moment. "Perhaps if we wait until after nightfall... when the camp goes quiet... then we can sneak down and try to free some of the creatures!"

*And how do you plan to do that exactly?* Dracstan asked the man. *You saw that the mage magicked the cage.*

"Maybe I'll still be able to pick the lock... or perhaps Raina can melt the bars. We have to try something."

*Very well... but sneaking only! It could be very bad news if we're caught,* Raina Lynn warned.

*Are you actually going to go along with this?* Dracstan asked her. Although it was a noble idea, he didn't think they had a chance at success.

*If Krisr's going, I'm going,* Raina Lynn responded with determination.

Dracstan sighed. *I better go along and help keep him out of trouble then.*

They settled down to watch the camp. At some point, they broke out a meager dinner. The camp quieted down after a while, with the men playing games of chance. The mage had disappeared inside a tent, but Krisr tried to count the others throughout the evening. There seemed to be at least ten strong men with the mage.

During dinner, the camp roasted up two goats, and everyone seemed to be present: the mage and eleven men. Krisr sighed as the smell of meat and fire came to them across the meadow. As they watched, large hunks of meat were cut and taken toward the covered cages. The mighty golden griffin was fed first. The mage stepped in front of the cage and made some motions. The bars again glowed greenish. The meat was tossed into the cage through the bars, and the spell was recast. The griffin did not touch the meat. The cage was recovered and the next tent was opened. This cage held a strange creature that looked much like a bear with greenish fur and spines down its back. Again, the motions were completed and meat tossed into the cage before it was respelled. No other cages were opened.

*Looks like they only have the two creatures,* Raina Lynn said hopefully.

*Or they only have two creatures alive,* Dracstan added pessimistically.

The group continued watching the camp. The men stayed up late into the night. Krisr nodded off for a bit, but Raina Lynn and Dracstan stayed awake and watchful. Finally, the fires were allowed to die down, and the men retired. One man stayed outside the tents.

*That could be troublesome,* Raina Lynn remarked.

*If we are lucky, he will fall asleep. If not, you will either have to give up your plan or attempt to silence him,* the stone wyrm told her.

Raina Lynn watched the man with her eyes and her mind for a long time. At last, she felt his mind become more distant, and he slipped into sleep. She moved stiffly over to nuzzle Krisr.

*Wake up, Krisr. They have all gone to sleep.*

Krisr arose slowly and tried to work the kinks out. Sleeping on rocks was getting to be quite an annoyance. Finally, he was ready, and they stared down into the canyon. Everything seemed still.

Let's go, Krisr thought, hoping that both dragons could hear him.

*Let's go,* Raina Lynn projected to Dracstan, assuming that the wyrm couldn't hear. Dracstan had heard Krisr's thoughts faintly, but he didn't bother to correct the Terran. Together, they crept down the side of the canyon, using the natural ledges as paths. They did so very slowly, being careful not to kick loose any rocks that could alert the poachers in the camp. Eventually, then reached the grassy bottom of the canyon. Krisr ducked down, and they crept toward the camp, staying close to the canyon wall. When they were finally in sight of their goal, Krisr crouched down and peered into the moonlit collection of tents.

Raina, can you communicate with the things in those cages? Krisr asked her.

*I can try...* she returned and concentrated on the cages. She found the mind of the great griffin and gave it a gentle greeting. It responded in surprise and hostility at first, but then, searching her mind, it realised that she was there to aid them. It, in turn, woke the sleeping bear, which shifted in its cage, but then lay still. The two prisoners expectantly waited for the group to take action.

Very slowly, the three snuck over to the griffin's tent. Krisr raised the flap and slipped under it, as did Raina Lynn. Dracstan coiled himself down into the grass and kept watch for any motion.

Once next to the cage, Krisr nearly sighed in disappointment. The lock had no opening for a key; it must be magically operated. He looked to Raina, who bent down her head to the narrowest point in the lock. She began concentrating hard on heating it. The sparks in her Ember Orb began to glow and whip around energetically, and the lock clasp began to glow dull red, then brighter orange. She kept at it, trying to heat it even more. It became neon in brilliance, then began to turn whitish. Krisr tried to keep the light blocked with his body.

As Raina Lynn concentrated on breaking the lock, Dracstan watched the camp. Suddenly, he felt movement from one of the tents.

*Look out!* he projected to Krisr and Raina Lynn, just as there was a shout from inside the tent and a flurry of movement. Raina dropped her concentration on the lock and projected an apology to the two imprisoned creatures. She and Krisr tried to slip in back of the cage.

"Intruders!" the mage shouted, emerging from his tent. Men immediately jumped out of bed. "There, by the griffin!"

Dracstan flattened himself and slithered away quickly. Raina Lynn and Krisr also made a break for it. The mage raised his hands and aimed a ball of green flame at Krisr. Although the human tried to dodge, it struck him on the back of the shoulder. He stumbled, and Raina Lynn spun back to protect him. She loosed a ball of fire at the mage, but he deflected it with an energy shield. The men were approaching them, so she turned her fire breath on them instead. They fell back, crying out in pain. The mage hurtled another ball of energy at them. Raina Lynn tried to block it with a ball of fire, but they passed straight through each other. She dove out of the way as did Krisr. She tried directing her icy vapor at the mage. This seemed to work better, as he strained to keep up his energy shield. He followed this with another barrage of energy balls. Meanwhile, the poachers were creeping forward again. Krisr tossed knives at two of them, taking them down. Raina turned to blast them with flame again, and that was when the mage shot a bolt of energy at Krisr.

The young man let out a yell of agony as it hit him in the chest, then collapsed and did not move.

*Krisr!* Raina cried in alarm. She snarled angrily and blew icy vapor again at the mage. She knew that she could not take on the entire camp herself. She glanced behind and saw that the canyon wall had several crevices, one of which looked the right size. *Dracstan, retreat to that crevice! I need to get Krisr there!*

She backed up to where Krisr lay, firing intermittent bursts of fire and ice vapor as she went. Once there, she began dragging Krisr backward, toward the crevice. In her hurry, she didn't notice that Dracstan wasn't behind her but along the wall farther into the canyon.

Dracstan slithered quickly through the grass, trying to reach Raina Lynn and the safety of the crevice. His green mane blended perfectly with the grass, but one person saw the motion: the mage.

"Not so fast, young beast," he said, and a ray of greenish light came from his palm and settled on Dracstan. The wyrm immediately felt as though he were being put under many pounds of chains. He struggled, but he wasn't strong enough to resist the mage's spell. The weight increased on his mind, squeezing his skull and causing pain. Eventually, the wyrm passed into unconsciousness.

Raina Lynn had worked Krisr back to the crevice and was trying to shove the human in without giving their attackers a chance to sneak up on them. *Dracstan, where are you?* she projected. She didn't get an answer. *Dracstan?* she projected again, looking around as she let a stream of flames fly toward the three closest poachers. It was then that she saw the mage lifting a small, limp shape out of the grass.

*Oh no...* Raina Lynn moaned, tears springing to her eyes. There was no way she could take on the camp to win Dracstan back. The only choice she had was the protect Krisr. She finished shoving him into the crevice and then began backing in herself, pushing him farther back as she went. She continued growling at the poachers and blasting them with flames and ice. She backed completely into the crevice, giving them only a narrow target and a lot of trouble.

The men kept their distance, looking to the mage for orders.

"Not wise, young dragon," the mage said. His dark hair and eyes gleamed in the pale light of the moon.

*Indyana will find you and stop you,* Raina growled loudly. *You will wish you never came here.*

She thought she saw the mage grow a bit paler, but the expression quickly passed. "You will not live to tell the tale," he said. With a twisted smile, the mage held up his hand and began to chant. Raina Lynn heard rumbling from above.

Oh no, he's going to seal us in! she realised too late. Rocks from above came crashing down over the narrow entrance. She leapt back, pushing Krisr away from the danger, as the entrance was sealed with large rocks. She coughed as dust filled the small space. Finally, when the dust had cleared, she crept back to the entrance. Through the tiny gaps in the rocks she could feel air moving, but she couldn't see anything. She strained her ears and her mind. The poachers were out there, and they were busily packing. Apparently, her threat had urged the group to depart early.

I should have kept quiet, she scolded herself. Then, Indyana would have been able to discover them here. As it is, Raina Lynn hoped that Indyana was hurrying. She turned her attention to Krisr.

Her bondmate was breathing, but he looked very pale. There was no mark on his shirt, but she pulled loose his belt and undid his tunic to check his chest for wounds. Underneath, she found a red burn mark across his ribs. She examined it with worry, wishing suddenly that she had Athena's healing powers. As it was, there was nothing she could do.

She lay down, stretching her legs under Krisr's head and her neck over his chest, being careful to avoid the burned area. *Indyana, hurry!* she wished.