All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 320: Fish in a Barrel

Daedalus had gotten used to having humans riding on his back. After so much time shuttling Archibald around, it had lost a lot of its demeaning nature. The sheer enthusiasm of the children who wanted to climb on and go for short flights also helped. But those were both special cases. Having other fully-grown adults aboard… Well, it wasn't exactly his favorite thing. But he could handle it.

Still, he'd never had so much trouble getting someone on his back. This Theocracy spy, Harold, was truly special. Daedalus had met several spies and sneaky types throughout his years, usually ones trying to steal his hoards of treasure throughout the eons.

It was an inevitability like the rise and fall of human civilization. He recognized that these types were always anxious, neurotic, nervous wrecks of people, and that's what made them good at their jobs. But trying to convince them that their frail little frames were safe under his majestic wings was harder than he had thought. Daedalus was a being of perfection and beauty, of strength and power. Why would a puny human worry about being harmed while under his protection?

Eventually, though, he managed to get Harold on his back and they were moving towards safety. He had a lot to report, apparently, about Barleona and its dealings. Far more than he'd noted in his message. The prospect of finally hearing some good news was exciting. Maybe they'd finally be able to hunt down those last Lieutenants soon.

But mid-flight, Daedalus's priorities shifted. A low rumble vibrated his scales as an instinctive growl rose from his chest. Harold clung tighter to his spine and gave a high-pitched squeak of alarm." What's going on?"

Daedalus ignored him. There was no time to explain. Archibald was in danger. Stupid humans, always trying to go after his companion. If anyone had dared to hurt him, they would feel the wrath of a dragon.

Well, likely this wasn't the doing of humans, Daedalus realized as he banked on the air currents heading for the Barleonan capital. No human would be so stupid as to go after Archibald. Archibald was more powerful than anyone of this age, except for maybe Beatrice. There really was no danger that he couldn't handle from them. But demons, on the other hand… They were just dumb and strong enough to try something like this.

He could feel Archibald fighting, unleashing skill after skill through their shared link. Daedalus flapped his wings harder, accelerating as the city came into view. Screams sounded as his shadow passed above, people looking up in fear and awe. The dragon circled around, looking for a place to land near his humans so that they could meet up and fight off the danger together.

Then he felt Archibald taking injury. A blow to the back of the head from some coward sneaking up on him.

Daedalus let out an enraged roar and barely resisted the urge to pour fire and brimstone down on the city. By the slimmest of margins, it was spared from being burned off the map outright. Instead, he made a beeline for the palace, his massive scaled body smashing into its roof. He gripped with his talons and swiped with his tail, tearing the ceiling and several floors clean off as though they were a lid on a teapot. There, he finally found a dazed Archibald looking upward, his injured form laying against one wall.

Susan and Tony were gathered around his companion, staving off enemy attacks as demons flooded into their room. It was all he needed to see. Daedalus let loose.

A torrent of rainbow-tinged fire poured out of his maw, carving a circle around the cornered humans. There was also a distant-sounding noise coming from behind him, almost like someone yelling but completely incomprehensible. Daedalus ignored it. The demons that weren't instantly incinerated by the blaze were pushed back, hissing and screaming at the sudden attack.

As he continued pouring flame into the halls and corridors, Daedalus picked out more and more details through his haze of rage. Archdemons fled before his might, their usually flaming tails singed by his comparatively superior firepower. Brutes swung at his legs and talons, only to be swept sideways by his tail.

After a few moments, Daedalus heard a cracking sound. The floor below began to shift, the strength of his dragon fire and weight too much for the puny human structure to handle. As much as he wanted to completely raze the thing to the ground, he had other priorities.

Instead, he swooped down, quite nimbly in his estimation, and grabbed the humans. Archibald and Susan lifted his front claws skyward, and he grasped Tony with a back foot. Pushing off with his one remaining free limb, he soared up into the sky, away from the crumbling capital.

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By the next morning, Bee had received no new news from the delegation. Not that she had really expected any so soon. Even if they'd sent some right as they arrived, it would still take a few hours at least for a bird or other message to reach her. But it left her anxious nonetheless. So, to keep herself from worrying too much, she decided to focus on what she could do.

She told her chamberlain to cancel most of her meetings for the day. Last night's meeting had left here with more important things to address than road-building updates and zoning reviews. Her advisers would be able to make do on their own for a bit. Instead, she went to find Arthur.

Arthur was, as usual, on the training fields with his men. The rather exhausted-looking troops were in the middle of exercising, but upon noticing her approach, Arthur handed command over to one of his officers.

"Miss Bee," Arthur said with a polite bow. She grimaced inwardly at his actions but understood their necessity. They were in front of the troops, and certain protocols needed to be observed.

She inclined her head graciously. "General Arthur, may I have a word?"

"Of course," he said, following her to her study. Once inside, he relaxed and gave her a warm smile.

"I hope you had a good party yesterday," he remarked. She rolled her eyes, eliciting a slight chuckle from the grizzled man. "Yeah, I understand. But remember, it's not just for you. It's for the men and the people. Morale is incredibly high after the festivities."

"Is that why you had everyone training early in the morning?" Bee asked.

Arthur smiled. "It's a great time to enforce some discipline when everyone's hungover. But anyway, what can I do for you?"

Bee quickly reminded Arthur of the situation in Barleona and the possible threat of demons and cultists. "I was aware of the possibility," she admitted after explaining. "But it sounds a little bit more dangerous than I was led to believe."

"Yes, that was another one of my reasons for having early training. Assessing readiness," Arthur reassured her.

"I'm going to need a high-level strike force, though. There's a very real possibility we have to perform an extraction mission ourselves. However, that should be unlikely with Archibald and Daedalus over there. But I'd expect we're going to be at least preparing for border skirmishes, possibly war altogether. And I thought I'd give you as much early warning as possible." Bee said.

"So it's really come down to that," Arthur acknowledged.

She nodded. "Yes. I imagine if our suspicions are accurate and the Lieutenants are in Barleona, then we will want to move on them immediately. All of us."

"True," Arthur agreed. "No matter how powerful he is, a god could still use support. His faithful will be ready to march."

"Good. I expect that it will be a few days, depending. I'm hoping to receive news sometime today, but it might be later. But if we don't hear back by tomorrow, we will march," Bee declared.

Arthur grimaced. "That's not a lot of time to get supply lines ready. But luckily, we've been preparing for this for a while. I'll go talk to the Minister of Finance and let him know what I need," he said, rubbing his forehead.

"I'll talk to him. You'll get whatever you need."

"Okay. And by everyone, you mean everyone." The man confirmed with a questioning eyebrow.

Bee nodded. "Yes. If it's really the demons, I think it's time even the Nighty Knights saw real combat under your command."

Arthur grimaced. "Not exactly happy about that, but I would rather them fight monsters like the demons rather than fellow humans. They're still a little young, in my opinion."

Bee looked at him. "Many of them are as old as I was when I first fought humans. Besides, I've met some of your sons now. They all told me you started training them long before they were even close to ten."

Arthur nodded. "Yes. Training. And we've been training the Nighty Knights, too."

"Yes, but your oldest saw combat when he was 13," Bee pointed out.

Arthur grimaced. "And I regretted that. I'm sure I'll regret this, as well. Maybe when times are kinder, when the world recognizes who Void is, we can make sure the children stay children until they are fully grown. But… we're not there yet," he said with a heavy sigh.

"Not yet, but soon," Bee agreed.

"Hold a second while I write up a letter for you to give Gerald," Arthur said, retrieving a pen and quill to scratch out a list.

"Of course," she said. "But is there anyone else we need to put on alert? Just double checking to make sure I've got all my bases covered."

"I don't think there's anything you need to do. I will be sending out missives to all of our cities, especially at the border, to heighten security and prepare for the coming conflict, but those should arrive right about the time it's obvious to any spy that we're ready to march. So, a day or two. I wouldn't go around spreading it too much, though. If word gets out, we might lose what little element of surprise we manage to maintain," Arthur advised.

She accepted this and bid Arthur farewell, leaving him to his work while she went to talk to the Nighty Knights. Captain Felix was going to be quite excited.