Novel 3. The Last Autumn

— Swords, — de Gorazzo articulated silently. — Swords in waterproof sheaths. Where are the rifles?

The first spy took some small items out of his bag and handed them out to his comrades. The group split up — two went to one ship sleeping on the slipway, two to another. Armando cowered left and right. Around him, several 'shadows' gathered silently. On the neighbouring roof, master Carlon and Alex were already lying in hiding. The trap was set — and the beast was preparing to stick its head into it.

The saboteurs climbed to the deck of the unfinished caravel, attaching something to the deck. Armando nodded to the nearest warrior. "Shadow" raised a wooden whistle to his lips and let out a very convincing cry of a night bird. The dark silhouettes froze, listening warily — which was a fatal mistake. A blow from the sea was the first thing the defenders of the shipyard were expecting. Of course, the forward patrols were stationed on the ships. And traps were set up there as well. At a signal, two black-clad warriors appeared from the caravel's crow's nest. "Shadows" unhooked a metal net disguised among the rigging from the rail and threw it down. The spies spotted it in time and darted away, but only one of them was lucky enough to dodge. The other fell down, floundering like a lamb caught in a thicket of wild vines. The other group had it even worse — the hulk they had targeted had no masts yet, and the sentries were sitting in the superstructure. When they heard the shouted command, they struck the saboteurs with crossbows. It was assumed that there would be a alien operative among the spies, who would be extremely dangerous Maybe even more than one.

— Forward! — De Gorazzo shouted without lowering his voice. The "Shadows" did not need to repeat the command. Each of them had a hook on a long rope, so it took the clan warriors no time at all to descend from the roof. Once on the ground, they silently rushed to the attack with swords drawn. Crossbowmen burst out of the hulk's superstructure, and sentries rushed down from the caravel's mast. The only surviving saboteur gave up trying to rescue his netted comrade. He looked around in a huff and plunged his short blued sword into his hapless partner's chest. Leaving the weapon in the corpse, he ran across the deck to the bow and swung over the bulwark before the shadow warriors caught up with him. The jump was perfect, and the caravel's upturned bow served as a convenient springboard. The waves embraced the saboteur with a loud splash. He surfaced far from the slipway and swam away from the shore with powerful rows. Armando didn't know where he was going, and he wasn't going to check. The former bailiff took out the same whistle used by the commander of the "shadows" and blew it three times. His signal was repeated on the shore, much louder. From the wall of the fort guarding the entrance to the bay, a clot of night darkness shimmered with scarlet sparks. Armando hadn't realised that the patterns on the wings of the island dragons glistened so beautifully in the light of the moon, when viewed with a "cat's eye". Yukikaze crossed the harbour in the blink of an eye. When it spotted its prey, the dragon dived down, spread its clawed paws... and snatched the intruder out of the water like a big fish. He must have weighed a lot for a lizard, because the dragon flew towards the shipyards in spurts, dipping his burden into the sea every now and then. When he reached the shore, he dumped man's body on the pebbly beach, and with visible relief soared upwards, heading for the fort, where Mamoru was waiting for him.

When Armando came down from the roof, the "shadows" had already cleaned up the mess. Three of the corpses were lying in a row on the pebbles, and the fourth saboteur was being treated — the dragon hadn't been very nice to him. Master Carlon was kneeling in front of the open bag of spies. Alex was sauntering nearby, Boyarin Yuriev was not visible — he was waiting in the guard barracks. Don de Gorazzo first examined the dead bodies and the prisoner, only then approached the mage. He said:

— All four are Erdosians. The captive is delirious, cursing in the local tongue. Armed with swords and daggers. The only thing alien about them is the vessels used to breathe underwater. Even the suits are local, made of waterproof leather.

— And also this. — Master showed Armando a flat black box lying in the palm of his hand. — There's a dozen of these in the bag. Apart from these, they're just spare air vials. Doesn't look like a bomb at all. Alex?

— It's... it's not a bomb. — The defector frowned. Rubbing his gunpowder collar, he moved forward to get a better look at the box. — It's a radio tag.

— What's it doing?

— Transmits a signal. Allows you to determine your location. — Alex shrugged. — That's all. It's harmless on its own.

— How can this be used for military purposes?

— Point the weapon. Long-range. — The defector chewed his lip thoughtfully. — The expedition had never had artillery or tactical missiles. Than... — He hesitated. — A helicopter!

— What? — Carlon raised his head.

— A helicopter! That flying machine you destroyed in the fortress with the portal. The expedition has several of them and... they can carry different armaments. Missiles, too. Different ones. Incendiary. Radio-guided. Or hand-held.

— Can this box attract a missile? — The magician clarified.

— Well... well, yeah.

Without further hesitation, the black-bearded imperial threw the radio tag onto the rocks and smashed it with the hilt of his infantry cleaver.

— Destroy all such things! — Armando ordered, turning to the "Shadows". — Find the ones already installed on the ships and destroy them, too.

— The helicopter must be flying here from some intermediate base, — the defector continued. — The flight time is limited. It would hover at a safe distance and wait for the marker signal.

— When there are no signals at the agreed time, will the helicopter leave? — Armando suggested without much hope.

— Hardly, — Alex shook his head. — The missiles can be guided visually. You'd have to launch them one by one, looking through a special sight. And from a shorter range. Not knowing exactly where the important targets are. But when you don't expect return fire, you can do it.

Master Carlon straightened up, putting his cleaver away in its scabbard. He growled in a commanding voice:

— Lights out in the harbour! All dragons in the air! Garrison mages to me!

When a noise came from the south, Armando swallowed involuntarily. The sound brought back memories of things he wanted to forget. The fragile-looking mechanism striking the dragon with fiery arrows... Gotech rushing to help his beloved, never to return... Now, though, they were playing on their own field. And they had more than one dragon.

Fubuki, with his rider on his back, swept low over the warehouses, leading two more lizards — from the shipyard garrison. Yukikaze and Mamoru joined them over the bay. The four dragons rushed towards the helicopter, reorganizing into a bearing formation.

— To aim the missile, the vehicle must be stationary from the time of launch until it hits, — the former alien operative told Carlon. — Otherwise, the gunner can't keep the target in his sights. Our choppers aren't combat or new, the sight stabilisation is rudimentary, and the operators are inexperienced, unlike the pilots.

— So we can't let it hang there, — the magician said. He passed those words to Akira, along with an order to lure the helicopter to the ground, to the shipyards, at any cost. The people below could only watch as the dragons and their riders completed the task.

The winged lizards intercepted the copter when it was barely visible from the embankment. Armando could barely see the beginning of the fight, just white and scarlet flashes among the stars. But gradually the sounds of battle drew closer and the flashes grew brighter. Minutes later it was possible to make out the silhouettes of the fighters. The helicopter was descending, darting back and forth, spitting fiery dashes from beneath its stumpy wings. Turning its nose toward one dragon, it threatened the others with flickering discs on its tail and over its roof. The bottom of the aliens' transport was not covered in any way, and four... no, three winged lizards were constantly ducking underneath it. One dragon had gone somewhere — Armando hadn't even noticed what had happened to it. Clearly afraid of repeating the fate of its mountain fortress counterpart, the helicopter dropped in and out of altitude, preventing the dragons from coming in from below. As it neared the bay, cannons fired from the walls of the fort. The distance was too great for buckshot, but the volley struck a nerve with the crew. The alien machine fired a fiery arrow at the fort, accelerated, leaving the dragons behind. The arrow swerved drunkenly and smashed into the fort's crenellations, splattering them with liquid flame. The helicopter skidded past the bastion and found itself in the blind spot of its batteries. Suddenly it spun on its axis and flew tail-first, spewing shimmering red whips towards the pursuers. The punctuations converged on the riderless dragon and it tumbled over its head, collapsing into a shapeless lump. The two remaining lizards skilfully drew apart, attacking on both flanks.

— It's time. — Master Carlon tossed the fire amulet into the bonfire he had built in the middle of the embankment. He whispered an incantation. The tarred wood burst into flame instantly, and a second later two more fires were lit to the left and right. The mage poured the contents of one of his pouches into the fire, and the flames turned a poisonous green colour. The entire harbour remained plunged into darkness. The three lights, with the green in the centre, should have been clearly visible from the air.

One dragon flew forward of the helicopter and scrambled under its fire, as if confused. It slid forward, lying on one wing or the other, dodging the flaming whips. For a few seconds he succeeded. Then a single flame dashed across the lizard's wing. The dragon tumbled sideways, but it didn't collapse to the ground — it spiralled, trying to stay in the air. The last surviving lizard immediately covered its wounded colleague, but the helicopter passed them without firing a shot — apparently, it had gained too much speed while rushing past the fort. But the defenseless shipyard was now in front of it, and it didn't need a scope to hit the bull's-eye from this distance. The aerial machine was heading straight for the green light....

— Now! — Master Carlon shouted, waving his hand. And with a jerk, a tilted magic screen rose from the embankment. A translucent plate the width of a mainsail hung in the air exactly in front of the helicopter. Armando remembered that this type of shield was used by army mages to protect against artillery fire. Neither he nor Carlon himself knew how the alien mechanism would interact with the shield. So the soldiers scattered a whole pile of ship's bronze from the nearest warehouse over the shimmering plate. The tilt of the shield was weak enough that all this things did not roll down it at once, but rose into the air like on a tray. The helicopter crashed into the shield, into the heap of hovering bronze...

The glass cockpit crumpled like an empty eggshell. The wrecked machine raced over the docks, smashed into the ground in front of the rope shop. There was an explosion that sent a black column of smoke into the sky. A few seconds later, a dragon hit the pebbles of the beach with a crunch.

— Help the rider, — Armando ordered the "shadows" standing beside him. The voice of Boyarin Yuriev was already coming from the distance, sending guards to put out the fire.

— Not without fire, — said master Carlon tiredly, putting his thumbs behind his belt. — But the exchange is in our favour.

— And I'm getting more and more convinced that I picked the right side, — Alex added with a wry grin.

The wounded rider was Mamoru. His leg and wrist were broken in the hard landing. Yukikaze had a tougher time of it — the lead had torn the webbing of his wing, damaged his bone, and his paws and ribs had suffered from the impact with the ground. Alas, Armando could do nothing to help — the Irutawa clan had their own healers. Leaving the heroes of the night to their care, the former royal bailiff checked on the health of the captured spy and went to... sleep. Even though he had not personally swung a sword today, his legs were still trembling.

Again the don was not allowed to sleep. Before dawn de Gorazzo was awakened by a courier from the capital.

— There was an assassination attempt on the taiko! — A young rider who had arrived on a golden dragon reported excitedly. His leather hat was crumpled in his hands excitedly. — Sir Irutava is injured, but not dangerously so. You are requested to return to Innoto as soon as possible...!

Chapter 14

— Only three, — Captain Valria summarised. Though sit Irutava sat at the head of the long table, the sharp-eared girl held herself as if she had called the meeting. — One chewed up by a dragon, two concussed and with holes in their skins. But all can speak.

— They can — and they will, — the clan leader said slowly. — I can promise you that. Most people are less afraid of death than of pain. Even the bravest warrior just needs the right approach.

The taiko's head was tied with a piece of white cloth with brown stains beneath the rich silk dressing gown and the bandages that bound his chest were also visible. The Erdosian, however, did not seem to notice the wounds.

— By the way, sir Chancellor, I want to apologise again for the poor work of my squad. — The elfess lowered her chin slightly, not looking ashamed at all. — Only assassins were supposed to get extra holes in their bodies.

— It's not a big deal. — Taiko made a soothing gesture with his palm. — It's all good. When I call a senate meeting to accuse the Tagawa clan, real wounds will add weight to my words.

— And yet, when we were guarding the Duchess of Elvart, she didn't get a scratch. I'm sorry.

Don Armando knew of the assassination attempt on the Chancellor from Lady Maria's words. As in the harbour, a group of local warriors, supported from afar by outsiders, were in action. Only instead of a helicopter, a gunman with a rifle was working in the capital. The mercenaries managed to neutralise him, but one of the Erdos assassins blew himself up with a powerful bomb. The explosion killed three guards and wounded taiko with shrapnel. Fortunately, none of the wounds proved fatal.

— The past is in the past. — Sir Irutawa looked around at the crowd. — It's time to plan for the future. From now on, we must act very quickly. The outsiders, and thus their allies, should already be aware of their failures. The prisoners are still being interrogated, but I've already set all the mechanisms in motion. The clan fleet is leaving the ports. We can't hide it from Tagawa's spies. That's why we've arranged everything to convince the spies that the fleet will head for their capital, not Iron Island. It might even force the Tagawa top brass to flee to Tattorubaku — a real gift.