1 mean to liberate it. As to the river, I want this entire
army across it within a week.”
“BEYOND the Vingaard?” Patrick was shocked, but
his eyes measured the elf woman with surprise and new
appraisal. “Into the heart of the dragonrealms?”
“The dragonarmies will meet us there, in force,”
Markham said cautiously. “Do you intend to draw them
into a battle? Destroy them on the field?”
“That will be an historic moment!” Lord Sword
declared, his face flushing and his long mustaches bobbing
at the prospect. A fierce light entered his eyes. “To drive
our lances into the faces of those beasts, for once – instead
of merely standing our ground!”
Laurana smiled, too, but it was a grim expression to
Mellison. She thought it made the elf woman look much
older. “Yes – I will draw them into battle. The first of
many. Once we’ve crossed the river, I don’t intend to rest
until we reach the gates of Kalaman!”
“Kalaman!” Sir Rose sputtered so much that his
mustaches floated out from his mouth. They all knew that
the distant city was in desperate straits, following a long
winter of isolation and siege. Still, hundreds of miles of
enemy territory lay between themselves and Kalaman.
“You’re mad!” barked Patrick.
Laurana allowed the insult to pass, but this time her
brother stepped forward. “The good dragons give us a
striking force that you knights can’t begin to imagine!”
countered the tall elf. “We cannot waste them!”
“What about Dargaard?” asked Markham, turning to
Laurana. “That’s a powerful bastion across your path – the
Dark Lady is there in force, together with the dragons of
her Blue Wing. The ogres of Throtl are supported by green
dragons, and they’re certain to mass against your south
flank.”
“I intend to ignore Dargaard, for the time being. The
ogres we’ll meet, and defeat.”
“They’ll have the Green Wing to support them. And
Emperor Ariakus has sent the Red Wing from Neraka as a
reinforcement. Too, we don’t have any idea where the
reserve army has gone,” argued Sir Rose.
“We have dragonlances,” cried Gilthanas. “We can
meet these serpents in the skies, finally, and defeat them!”
“The weapon, so far, has only proven itself in the
closed confines of the tower!” Patrick growled back.
“That is true,” Laurana agreed. “But I don’t intend to
fight all the dragons at once. That’s why it’s so important
that we MOVE!”
“But a major river crossing!” objected Patrick. “You
can’t imagine the difficulties! And if we’re caught with the
army divided – ”
“Our dragons will screen the crossing. And I intend to
reach the Vingaard too quickly for anything but a token
force to stand in our way.”
“But there’s the fortress itself – Vingaard Keep has a
massive garrison!” persisted Patrick. “Anywhere we cross
puts us in easy reach of a counterattack!”
“That brings me to the next part of the plan,” Laurana
announced, pausing to make sure she had the attention of
all the men. “Vingaard will be liberated – TOMORROW.”
The knights, to a man, stared at the general in
amazement. All knew that Vingaard Keep was three days’
ride by horse.
At this point, the Council’s voices grew hushed and
confidential, so the rest of the conversation is lost to
Mellison’s diary – and to history. The results of this
historic and clandestine conversation are known.
The following dawn, the skies over the High Clerist’s
Tower were filled with dragons – their metallic colors
dappling the ground with moving reflections of the
brilliant sunrise. Laurana, astride the huge gold dragon
Quallathon, led the way. A wing of griffon cavalry,
mounted with elven bowmen and lancers – lately arrived
from Southern Ergoth – flew beside the great serpents.
Altogether, two hundred of the half-hawk, half-lion beasts
accompanied an equal number of dragons soaring
southeast toward Vingaard – eighty miles away across the
flat plain. Their bodies blackened the sky.
At the same time, the army moved out. Led by the
knights on horseback, accompanied by the blue-garbed
troops of Palanthas and a large and growing force of
irregulars recruited from Solamnia and Ergoth, the
soldiers of Laurana’s command marched to the northeast.