Chapter List
It was later that day that Ziara approached me while I was talking to Charlie, Vincent, and Damien.
�Renard�� I turned to look at her. �Could I talk to you?� she asked.
�Sure.� I said, nodding. I excused myself from the three and walked off, following Ziara. We walked away from everybody else and stopped in the forest once we were out of sight. She turned to look at me.
�Renard, I have an assignment that I�d like you to take. It�s fairly risky but it shouldn�t be too hard. Are you up to it?� she asked me. I thought for a few seconds then nodded to her.
�Alright�� she smiled at me.
�Good lad. Now, what I need you to do i
s sneak into a small human camp a few miles from here and steal a few of their maps and notes. I�d ask a more experienced animal to do this but you�re the only fox captain I�ve got and they�re known for their natural stealth.� I nodded again but I was unsure of myself and I guessed it showed.
�Well, I could get somebody else if you can�t.� she said.
�No, I can do it.� I told her. She nodded and smiled at me.
�You know� many of the others think it was a mistake making you a captain. But I�m sure, in time, they�ll see what I saw in you and realize that you�re the right animal for the job.� I smiled at the compliment and she walks past me towards the camp. She stopped and turned to face me.
�And Renard�� I looked at her. �Watch yourself.�
* * * * * *
People were running out of the streets, trying to avoid the men on horseback (unlike a lot of animals, horses and birds hadn�t taken the same evolutionary route that other creatures did and remain in an utterly beastly form) that were tearing through the dirt streets between houses and markets. It was starting to grow darker and the bright flames on a huge castle at the edge of the village could be seen easily. The castle was very large; the outside walls stood about eighty feet up into the air and were fatal to anybody that fell from the top. The men rode quickly towards the castle, stopping in front of an enormous mote that encircled the entire castle. One of them whistled loudly, catching the attention of a sentry.
�Who goes there?� the sentry yelled out. One of the three men spoke out.
�Sir Thomas, messenger!� he yelled out. �I have reports which require the attention of the king!� The two sentries on guard talked with each other for a minute. A huge bridge at the front of the castle was lowered across the mote to the opposite end by massive chains. Once lowered, the men rode their horses over the bridge and into the castle. They passed by a large market that was inside of the castle walls. All of the places were empty now; the market closed after sunset. The men stopped in front of a large doorway that led to the royal court. The messenger, Thomas, got off his horse and went inside. He walked down many large stone corridors until he entered the large room that the king and several of his loyal subjects were sitting in. The room was filled with many people that had been invited for a party of sorts. On the sides of the room stood several vixens that held trays and cleaning clothes. They were in chains that bound their ankles so they could not run. The people in the room pointed and sneered at them every once in a while.
The messenger moved through the crowd of people and approached the king�s table.
�Sir, I have some unfortunate news.� He said. The king sat up strait in his large chair.
�What is it?� he asked.
�Thirteen slaves escaped yesterday from a farm, your majesty. Their master was found dead and the farm guards were found locked up in an old building.� Thomas explained. The king tried to remain calm but it was obvious that he was furious. He didn�t want to disrupt the guests nor alert them of what had happened.
�Find them. I don�t want any word of this to reach Emperor Diable. Do you got that?� said the king quietly.
�Yes sir.� Replied Thomas.
�If word of this gets out then I�ll have your head in a basket.� Continued the king angrily.
�Yes sir. Understood.�
�Away with you.� Ordered the king. Thomas nodded and turned and left the room and headed back outside. When he got there the two men and his horse were still waiting. He climbed up on the creature and turned his attention to the two other men.
�Find those escaped beasts and let nobody alert any higher authority. This mustn�t get to the emperor.� The two men nodded and the three rode out of the castle and into the night.
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