Bakru had exited his hiding place shortly after sending out the messenger worm. He wished to examine the outer defenses for anything suspicious. He brushed past a small battalion of dwarven longshots making their way to the Warforge. Bakru leaned over the edge of the ramparts to look out at the thickening mists looming below the mountain peaks. The anxious Stoutkin noticed a disturbance among the clouded air and the faint screeching of a returning messenger hawk.
As quickly as Bakru spotted the struggling bird did it crash onto the floor beside him. He scrambled to the hawk and examined the snapped arrow lodged in its breast. The creature thrashed and heaved in pain and Bakru started to run to seek help when a warm hand pressed against the back of his head.
“If you are a spy then speak now or else I’ll fry your mind like an egg.” The voice crackled like an open flame but emanated the raw power of a wildfire.
“Regent Emberheart? I’m glad it’s you; this hawk needs aid. The creature is bleeding out.” Era slowly circled Bakru with her smoldering hand still trained on him. She kneeled down beside the bird and examined the wound.
“This is not my specialty. If you prove not to be a spy, I will allow you to get the Great Tamer.” She loosened the tie around the hawk’s foot and pulled a scroll free from the binding. “Now this, well, this is my specialty.” Era gave a quick flick of her wrist to unfurl the scroll and scanned its contents. “Were you waiting on this letter?” Bakru violently shook his head side to side. Era grinned and pressed her thumb and forefinger to the corner of the scroll. The parchment quickly caught flame and was soon rendered to ashes. “You didn’t even flinch. I believe you for now.” She waved him off. “Go get the Great Tamer. Judging by the wound, this creature doesn’t have long.” Era pushed Bakru aside and moved towards the Warforge. Before she opened the door, Era gave a parting statement. “You’re lucky that Phorsten knew to destroy your messenger worm.”
Bakru froze momentarily as Era faded out of view before rushing to find Mert. His search did not take long as the Great Tamer rounded the corner and caught Bakru mid-run.
“Calm, young one. What has you so panicked?”
“A messenger hawk just crashed down the hall with an arrow in it.” Mert grabbed Bakru by the shoulder and moved down the hall where Bakru had come from.
The hawk was breathing slowly and attempting a small flap with its wings. Its eyes were slowly scanning over Mert’s distressed face. “What has happened to you, Krilki?” The Great Tamer ran his fingers along the entry wound and examined the snapped end of the arrow. “This snap doesn’t appear to have happened from a struggle. The arrow wasn’t shot at this hawk. It was stabbed.” Mert looked at the hawk’s foot and found the loosened twine. “Where is the message?”
“Regent Emberheart took it. Well, she sent it up in flames after reading it.” The Great Tamer turned to Bakru.
“She burned the letter? That seems odd, to say the least.” Mert’s eyes began to water and he kneeled beside Krilki. “I’m sorry, Krilki. You did well. I think that we might be needing some information though. You were an honorable companion and I shall take a feather for the Crown of the Remembered. But I’ll have to take something else too.” Mert gripped the shaft of the arrow and gave it a swift tug. The arrowhead dislodged and clattered on the floor as Mert scooped the bird in his arms and whispered blessings to it. Bakru turned away to give the Great Tamer time to mourn.
After a short amount of time passed, Mert set the still body back on the stone and removed a long feather from each wing. “Thank you for telling me about Krilki, lad.” Bakru turned back to Mert and gave a partial bow.
“Was this your personal bird?” Mert gave a weak chuckle and stood.
“No, no. I have many hawks in my service, Bakru, but none are truly mine. We serve one another and those that die in service are remembered always in the ceremonial headdress I have been fashioning since the first hawk passed.” Mert lifted the snapped arrow up and broke off the rest of the shaft over his knee. “They were trying to hide the colors of the feathers. The arrow was never shot because they wanted to make sure that I would know exactly who killed Krilki. If the feather was left on and the arrow shot, anyone could recognize the origin of the arrow. But only a handful of dwarves know of another method of telling the origin of an arrow like this. The shaft is charred at the end where it connects to the arrowhead. I bet if I,” Mert dropped the arrowhead on the floor and gave it a powerful stomp, “see there?”
Bits of the stone had chipped away and within was a mass of coarse material. “Blasting powder. Now there are a handful of races and clans that know how to create explosive arrows, however, there are only a few that know how to light them with their own fingertips.”
“The Flamespeakers.”
“Exactly. I wouldn’t have been so certain if not for Era burning the note. This is either a threat towards her or from her. We need to find out which and act accordingly. But first, I must speak with you about the information you managed to find during the council.” Bakru grew nervous but had no reason to distrust the Great Tamer.
“The humans are planning something. They have the entire outer ring mapped for certain.”
“Perhaps they were looking into troop deployment to maximize our defenses. We are working with these humans now. Even the beastmen.” Mert’s tone seemed unease but not completely conflicted on the matter. “That Varmos fellow seemed as vile as a Giblock but his assistance could help save Lady Emberheart if we are truly preparing for an attack. And if she burned the letter for more nefarious reasons then perhaps the human will serve well to hinder her.”
“Do you think that we should put our trust in a Flamespeaker. Great Tamer?”
“Many of the scars of our people come from the separation of our clans. I think Era will do well to bridge the gaps. Who knows, maybe she’ll even help mend our kingdom with time.” Mert chuckled and waved off Bakru. “But for now Phorsten is still our leader and I stand by him with my life.”