The Home Stone

Kirin waved good-bye as the Roc soared into the air carrying Shannon off to Sanctum. Now it was his turn to mount another giant bird that would fly him to meet up with Dreen and the army that would just be arriving at the East Border River near Maryton. There he would also find Blick who by now was defending the bridge from being overtaken by the barbarians. What happened to Treymane, he did not know. All the information that he had was that the invasion had begun and the first thing the Snowlands’ people did was to secure the harbor in Haggle Ville and send an army east to take the bridge at Maryton. For the Western border of the Hillshire, he did not have any information, but he was sure that the Rogalanders had enough troops stationed there to prevent the barbarians from expanding into their land. Enderby had not sent anyone to help, except a couple of war ships to patrol the coastline in case the northern army decided to sail south, but they did not have any ships, unless they commandeered some merchant vessels that were armed

with catapults, to use against the pirates of the inland sea.

Dreen had done his job well by making sure that the army was well supplied and also that the Sky Riders from Ashland sent some birds to keep an eye on the enemy and where it went, or what it was up to.

Brendan and Sapphira took Sean back to her village and promised that she would return with her army and help as much as she could. Kirin sent messengers to Agru to ask the Mountain Trolls if they could guard the northeastern corner of the Northern Divide. He also got the orc army to watch the eastern Crags in the far north to prevent the barbarians from flanking his army. With the Snowlanders boxed in the armies of the elves and dwarfs would have a much easier time driving them back into their northern lands.

Seated and secured behind the Sky Elf, Kirin prepared himself for the long journey north. Checking to make sure that he had everything that he needed he tapped the elf in front of him on the shoulder and off they soared. Higher and higher they flew, until all he could see was tiny dots that were the homes of the elves that he had just left. The farms looked like tiny squares that dotted the landscape and small rivers became long cracks in the earth. Only where the shores widened could he see actual water. They flew on for most of the morning when the Roc began to circle. Frey, who controlled the bird, made some low swoops over the forest and finally found a spot large enough to set the giant bird down. Safely back on the ground the two dismounted and moved away from the bird and gathered some wood to make a fire.

“Tell me,” asked Kirin, “why did you take so long landing the bird? I saw the clearing for some time before you started your descent.”

“I saw it too,” Frey replied, “but I had to make sure that there were no barbarians lurking about. My bird needs time and space to get up and out of arrow range.”

Kirin understood and busied himself with the campfire while Frey made sure the bird had enough greens to feed on and enough water to drink. He then returned to the camp and sat down. The two ate a warm meal and had some hot tea before settling down for the night.

“I’ll take the first watch,” offered Kirin, but Frey stopped him.

“No need to,” said the Sky Elf. “With Nadu out there, I don’t think anyone will approach our camp. He would tear any trespasser to shreds if they came too close and he is a light sleeper. No my good friend; that bird will guard us well this night.”

Kirin slept restless that night. He kept waking every time the bird mad a sound. Whenever an animal would come near, Nadu would let it know that it was not welcome by sounding off with a low, but very noticeable shriek. By the time dawn crept into the night sky, Kirin was already up and stoking the fire to heat some water to make fresh tea. Then it was off into the wild blue yonder again.

Their next stop was just outside the west wall of Maitland. Here a troop of the famous Home Guard was waiting at the edge of the woods. They saw the Roc drop out of the sky and make a graceful landing. Kirin left Frey and his bird and entered the city, where he was briefed by the City Council on the latest news of the invasion. With the new information, he made a quick stop to see his mother before returning to where the Sky Elf and his bird were waiting. It was quite dark when Kirin returned. He brought with him some home cooked food that his mother had packed for him and Frey and a full wineskin. They dined by the campfire and with the watch somewhere just inside the trees, the two rolled themselves up in their bedrolls and went to sleep.

It was the same way as most birds greet the day and Nadu was no different. As the first signs of dawn showed on the horizon, the Roc began his morning ritual. It was the shrill screeching that made Kirin jump up into a sitting position. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, the elf looked over to where Frey was supposed to be sleeping. Finding the he was already up and packed to go, Kirin found him standing next to Nadu and laughing. Somehow he had found it funny the way Kirin shot up out from a deep sleep. Shaking his head in disgust, Kirin packed his things and joined the elf and bird. Today they would fly over the inland sea and hop from island to island until they reached Maryton.