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The next day flew by in a whirlwind of commotion. Diana and the guild suited up, gathered last-minute supplies, and readied themselves to leave for the north. She briefed them on what they were to do and what danger lay ahead. She gave them all the option to stay at the guild, but to everyone’s surprise, not a single one of them walked away. Altogether there were a dozen members coming along with them. Diana wanted to take more, but given the high level of danger, she was hard-pressed to recruit any suited to the challenge. She’d explained that many of her guild had been lost regaining control of Emerald Deep from Ditania. The majority of the members now were townsfolk who’d only recently signed on. Their skills were still amateur and most of them were unwilling to leave their home besides. Dusk was thankful they were able to get as many veterans as they did to help them storm Alamond. It was almost like having a small army at his beck and command, but he let Diana and Tara give the orders. They seemed to be the most suited to the job anyway.
When the morning came to leave, Dusk felt a flutter in his chest as he began to put his armor on. His hands were shaking as he tried to buckle the straps, making everything more difficult. Growing frustrated he began to grumble under his breath. He needed to get himself under control. Being nervous would do him no favors once they were in actual danger. A part of him wished they still had a few more days to plan, but he knew no matter how much time elapsed, it wouldn’t make the task any easier to face. They would be staring death in the face once they reached Alamond. Nothing would change that. He yanked at the straps once more, willing his hands to be still.
“Let me help with that,” Lex said, coming up beside him and beginning to buckle the straps into place. “Just take a deep breath.”
Dusk did as he was told, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. It felt a little better, but he was still tense. “How are you so calm?”
“Believe it or not, I’ve been trained for this sort of thing,” Lex replied. “When I was young my swordsmanship lessons were well-rounded. It’s not uncommon for nobles to lead battalions of men to war when the crown demands it, so I was trained to handle this kind of pressure. I was much worse than you are now when I first started.”
“What a strange thing to make a kid go through. The more you talk about being a noble, the less I understand why anyone wants to be one.”
“The world bows at your feet. You can have whatever you want as a noble.”
“Except your freedom.”
Lex sighed. “Except your freedom.”
Dusk was silent for a moment as Lex buckled his breastplate into place, then moved to the bracers on his arms. “Do... Do you want to go back there? After all this I mean.”
“Part of me wants to go back, at least for a little while.” He finished the bracers and continued to the greaves on Dusk’s shins. “Now that my parents are back to being themselves I want to give them a second chance. I feel like they deserve that. And I want to make sure all the Ronja slaves are set free.” He sighed, buckling the last strap into place before standing up. “I don’t know if I trust my father to have the guts to do it, whether we have a king or not after this. I think he’s too scared to do anything that extreme.”
“He seemed like he had a very rigid understanding of how things should work. It sounded like his father was very strict.”
“I never knew him, but from what I’ve heard, I’d agree.”
Dusk took his turn helping Lex pull on his armor and adjusting all the straps to make sure it was tight, but comfortable. “What will you do after all of that’s done?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” Lex replied, adjusting the pauldrons on his shoulders.
“You wouldn’t want to take over the chateau?”
“Why do you ask?”
Dusk was silent for a moment. “I... I’m just curious I guess.”
“You don’t think I’m going to leave you behind, do you?”
“No. But I also don’t know what kind of life you want to lead. I can’t imagine what this world is going to need if we pull this off. If the king is dead and the royal family gone, the nobles may be the only thing that can hold Ditania together. I don’t know if they’ll need you to lead them and what that means for me.”
“Dusk,” Lex said, turning around and placing his hands on Dusk’s shoulders. “You will always be my first priority. Even if the world needs me to lead it, which sounds completely ridiculous and unlikely, I will put that all aside for you.”
“Is that right to do, though?”
“I don’t care if it is or not. I’ve spent too much of this life hiding and trying to please others already. I want to be with you, no matter where we go. If that means living in a cabin in the woods or on a tiny farm in the middle of nowhere, that’s fine with me. As long as you’re there by my side, I’ll never wish for anything else.”
“Do... you really mean that?”
“Of course I do.”
Dusk felt tears well up in his eyes as he pulled Lex into a tight hug. “I love you.” He squeezed him tighter. “You better not die out there, you hear me?”
Lex turned his head to the side and kissed him. “The same goes for you.”
***
An hour after sunrise the group found themselves on the march just north of town, towards the Crystal Gate. Lyra planned to meet them there, wanting to keep herself out of the way until they were ready to go through the portal. Diana was apprehensive about how her men would react to the sight of a dragon and Lyra seemed to agree. Both thought it best to keep it a secret until the last possible moment.
It was a long walk and Dusk was thankful they’d decided to do it in the morning. The fog from the lake was burning off quickly as the heat of the sun was already beginning to pour down on them. It was going to be a hot day and the weight of his armor was causing him to sweat. The summer solstice had come and gone during their travels, leaving the world in a constant state of heat. To his relief, it was nothing like the jungles of Rhykandria and Dusk counted his blessings, however small they were. The mines would be cool as soon as they arrived and took over the place. Beyond, the road to Alamond was heavily wooded. If all went well, they would remain hidden and sheltered from the weather on their journey.
Little details like that seemed to buzz in his brain. He worried about the others constantly now that he was one of the leaders of the group. It was still strange to him that anyone would want him in charge, but even his friends looked up to him for direction. If he was being honest, he tried not to think about it so that he didn’t have time to doubt himself. Their confidence in his abilities was alarming at the best of times and he felt unfit to lead them. But then again, he knew the most about the crystal and its power. He only hoped that knowledge would be powerful enough to secure their victory.
The march to the gate seemed longer than he remembered. Dusk thought back to the day Yarick had led them down to the city, eventually bringing them all to the brothel where he’d met Eiran and Cyrilo. It seemed so long ago and yet, in some strange way, like it had been only yesterday. The trip to Emerald Deep, although not planned at first, had brought them to their most powerful allies. The five that walked at his side were the only reason he’d made it as far as he had in the past months. Diana had saved him from the Circle then delivered him to Ciaran when Emerald Deep came under attack. Cyrilo had fought at his side along the way and became a trusted friend. Lex and Tara had been there the longest and he knew without them, he wouldn’t have ever made it to Windshear Pass in the first place. The more he thought about the friends he’d surrounded himself with, the more his confidence grew.
When they reached the gate at last, Diana called for the group to stop. She nodded to Dusk and he reached out to Lyra, beckoning her to the gate.
“This is your last chance to turn back,” Diana explained to her men. “Once we pass through this gate, there will be no way out of this venture.”
Dusk heard the heavy footfalls of Lyra as she walked out of the forest, her head held high above them all. All of the guild members craned their necks to get a look at her, mouths hanging open in disbelief. More than one of them put a hand on their weapon, but Diana held up her arms to steady them.
“This dragon is our ally, as I explained before. She’ll open the gate for us, but once we step through, we’ll be on our own. If she can make it to us in time, she’ll serve as a distraction for the enemy, but until then, it’s just us.” Diana scanned the group, looking at each of them in turn. When none turned away, a smile spread across her face. “You’re the best the guild has to offer. Now let’s make sure we can all live to steal another day!”
There was a resounding “huzzah!” cried back to Diana. She nodded and turned around, looking at the rest of them with a smile. Her eyes fell to Dusk. It was time to go.
He walked up to Lyra and she bent her head down to meet him. Lifting a hand, he gently patted the red scales of her muzzle, his own white scaled hands catching the sunlight. Even with the crystal eye gone, the scales had stayed, permanent reminders of his first encounters with magic. What started out as an escape to freedom had turned into an adventure and it would mark him for the rest of his life.
“Thank you for everything,” he muttered. “We couldn’t have done this without you.”
“Don’t say your goodbyes yet, little one,” she replied, nudging him slightly. “We stand a fair chance at pulling this off.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I’m a dragon,” she chuckled. “I’m always right.”
She pulled away and lifted her head to the gate as Dusk took his place with everyone else. Drawing his bow, he nocked an arrow. The others behind him followed suit, pulling their weapons and readying themselves for battle.
“Strike down anyone in black cloaks first, then the armored guards,” Dusk called to them. “But leave the slaves be, we’ll set them free once we have the mine under our control. We take no prisoners.”
“The portal will remain open for only a few seconds, so go quickly,” Lyra said from high above them. “Look to the southern skies when you reach Alamond and I will be there, the flame of revenge to smite your enemies down!”
“Bit dramatic, don’t you think?” Lex whispered at Dusk’s side.
Lyra leaned forward and touched the gate with her muzzle, closing her eyes in concentration. The enormous amethyst crystal began to shine and glow once more, losing it’s purple color until it was a gleaming aquamarine. With a flash the shimmering curtain of magic appeared once more inside the arch. Dusk gestured for them to follow quickly and one by one the eighteen of them slipped through the gate without a sound.