Dragons Descended Upon the Wicked by Kenneth Champion Page B

but at the same time no one was bold enough to question him. They all knew that he had constructed some sort of plan in his mind. He wanted everyone who was able bodied to be able to shoot a bow and arrow with efficiency.
    On the tenth night the camp had just finished their training. Nick was stretching out his arms and saw Phillip and Thomas standing on a hill by the side of the camp. They were now fairly deep into Terrel and getting deep into winter. Snow was falling from the skies and wind gusts brought a chill factor they had not dealt with yet. They were in an area of open terrain with only a few hills. The landscape looked as if it were a desert with sand and few trees. It was not busy like the terrain found in most parts of Hentrio, but rather simple.
    Nick walked up the steep hill to greet Phillip and Thomas.
    “How’s it going?” asked Nick.
    “We’ve become good friends,” said Thomas as he looked at Phillip.
    “Thomas reminds me a lot of you, Nick,” said Phillip.
    “That’s great to hear,” said Nick. “What are you guys doing up here?”
    “We came up here to get a glimpse of the beauty found in the forbidden lands of Terrel,” said Phillip. “I never imagined I would ever step foot in this place.”
    “That’s what we came up here for, but then we saw something peculiar,” said Thomas. “I saw a raven flying out from camp. It headed south.”
    “There are thousands of people here,” said Nick. “Surely someone here has a raven or two to send messages to loved ones.”
    “That is what I hope,” said Thomas. “The worst case is that someone is sending messages to the six. Why would someone wait until it was dark to send out a raven?”
    “I should bring this up to Jeffrey,” said Nick.
    “I don’t think it is necessary to alarm anyone,” said Phillip. “I think we should just be wary about who we are sharing camp with. We should be on the lookout for suspicious activity, but we shouldn’t bring chaos to a situation without a solution.”
    “Right,” said Thomas. “It wouldn’t do much good if we tell people that the best thing they can do is start questioning people.”
    “At the very least, allow me to do the same thing you two just did to me,” said Nick. “I’ll tell one king’s men what you both saw. Would that be alright?”
    “I suppose that would be alright,” said Thomas. “But just one person. The one you can trust the most. I’ve seen things like this get out of hand. I don’t want anything to disturb those around us.”
    “Deal,” said Nick. “I just want to say I am grateful that you two are here and helping the cause. It means everything to me, really.”
    Nick placed his hands on his friends’ shoulders and smiled at them. He walked down from the top of the hill and found the secluded Jeffrey sharpening his sword by a lone rock. The night was getting later as he approached the man. Tired eyes and tired legs filled the camp. Jeffrey was no exception. Nick told Jeffrey what his friends had told him a few minutes ago. Jeffrey did not seem too moved at the news. He was rather calm and collected and simply thanked Nick for giving him news of the suspicious activity. Jeffrey then had the chance to tell Nick of a few people from camp who wished to become supreme Rezas. He expressed the gratitude for their commitment, but at the same time he was conflicted with the idea that these people would be risking their lives. He continued to deny the chance for more people to become supreme Rezas. He assured Nick that he had a plan that would be unveiled when the time had come.
    Nick took his leave and made his way to Penny’s side as he strived to do every night. They stayed up and talked for a while about the present and the future. There was nothing that kept them going more than the thought of a peaceful and lovely future that they could spend with one another. They would get lost in time when they talked about all of the places they could live one day. The