"I waited for my warsiblings to tear each other apart, then stepped in and dispatched the survivors as best I could. When it was done, I looked before and behind me and saw that every part of the land that had passed beneath the dragon had been twisted in this same way. The grass shattered under my feet as I walked on it, grinding it into sand."
"The Dragonbrand." Dougal breathed the word with horrified respect.
Soulkeeper nodded. "The curse the dragon laid upon the land stretched for untold miles in the direction of the flight, coming from the north and reaching for the south. Everything in its path had been turned to crystaclass="underline" the trees, the animals, even the land itself nearby.
"The worst part of it all is that the dragon didn't care about the destruction it caused. It was going elsewhere, on a mission known only to itself. To it, the Dragonbrand was worth nothing more than your boot prints are to you. We might as well have been ants. Everything I lost that day mattered to it not one bit.
"I fell into my own personal darkness, my friends slain by a force greater than I could hope to confront." General Almorra Soulkeeper seemed to forget that Dougal was there, her lips drawn back over bared teeth. "I became a gladium, a charr without a warband, and refused any aid in my darkness. At last, with the help of a few unlikely allies, I came to myself and knew what had to be done.
"I knew then that this was no foe that a single people could confront," Soulkeeper said. "To have any hope of defeating an Elder Dragon, the peoples of Tyria would have to band together to fight it."
"That's why you formed the Vigil," Dougal said.
"Yes," said Almorra. "And although I work to save Tyria, I also know I act to save myself." Almorra returned to the present time and the firelit chamber. Turning to face Dougal, she said, "Crusader Riona told me your companions died when you went into Ascalon City. They were your fellow warriors and your friends. I can understand your reticence to return there."
"I have a dozen reasons to stay away, and not one good one to return," said Dougal, "Yet, I accept your plan. I will lead a group into Ascalon City. I will find your Claw of the Khan-Ur. Provided, of course, you are willing to pay for my services."
"Pay?" said Almorra, suddenly brought up short, as if the idea that payment might be required had only now crossed her mind. "Of course. You can keep everything else you find, I suppose, and split it as you see fit with your companions. And our resources are not slender by any means. What do you need?"
"Well, first off," said Dougal, managing a tired, knowing smile, "I'll need a new sword."
When we went to Ascalon City before"-Dougal jabbed a finger at the map of Tyria-"we crossed the Shiverpeaks up through the Snowden route. The Lionguard have established a string of havens up there to protect the trade."
He looked up at the two women. Killeen was soaking everything up with a focused, stern expression. Riona still had the self-satisfied smile that she wore ever since Dougal told them he had agreed to go with them to Ascalon City. As they discussed the journey, servants brought in a light lunch. Ewers of springwater were emptied, the plates of cheese, dried meats, and bread reduced to crumbs. There would be time for a real meal later, perhaps.
General Almorra, seated across from the three, said nothing but nodded.
"Then we hung north of the ruins of the Great Northern Wall and came down to the east of Ascalon City itself, looping back westward to its main gate. There were too many charr encampments otherwise," Dougal finished.
"I always thought that the northern flank was the weakest," said the general.
"Problem," said Riona. "Most of your previous route is underneath the Dragonbrand now. We'll probably see an increase in patrols along the edges of the brand now. We'll have to move carefully."
"No," said the general, "we don't have the time for a long journey. The legions' truce faction will not wait forever. Neither will the human queen."
"I am open to suggestions," said Dougal.
"Asura gate," said Almorra.
Dougal winced at the idea, but said, "There's no asura gate to Ascalon City."
Riona said, "There's one in Ebonhawke, but we would have to go back to Divinity's Reach to get use. There is no direct link between Lion's Arch and the fortress city."
"You'll be going through Ebonhawke," Almorra pointed out. "It is the closest available gate."
Dougal scowled at the map. "Possible," he said. "When we first left Ebonhawke"-he shot a glance at Riona-"we cut along to the south, so I know the area around Ebonhawke. But once we get closer to Ascalon, I'd be less sure.
"And while we can get to Ebonhawke," he continued, "once there, we're stuck. Even if we could sneak past the Iron Legion's siege of the city, we'd still have to hike scores of miles across charr-infested lands-and through the Dragonbrand, to boot-before we even reach Ascalon City."
"I thought of that," replied the general. "We have a contact in Ebonhawke as well who will get you out of the city. And as for a guide across the lands of the legions, I have already addressed that particular challenge as well."
Something heavy knocked on the door, and Dougal-who felt it reverberate through his body-jumped at the sound of it. Soulkeeper smiled.
"The answer to those concerns has arrived," the charr general said. Then she called out through the door: "Enter!"
The door swung inward on well-oiled hinges and revealed a powerful and lithe female charr standing at the threshold, younger than the general but no less impressive. She towered over Dougal, and the tips of her short horns brushed against the door's lintel as she entered. Her black lips were drawn back over her full set of vicious, gleaming white teeth and fangs, as if in a perpetual snarl. Her heavy yellow eyes scanned the room, assessing everything and everyone in it as a threat and then dismissing them as beneath her notice.
Where exposed, her amber fur bore black stripes on it, like those of a tiger, although a tuft of the snowiest white poked out from beneath the collar of her armor, right above the hollow of her throat. The armor that covered most of her fur moved as silently as she did, oiled for stealth as well as combat. She bore no weapon in her hands, but she didn't need one. She had her talons extended, each of which looked as sharp and long as a dagger.
Dougal realized how he had quickly come to accept General Almorra Soulkeeper's presence. The leader of the Vigil being a charr no longer concerned him. This new charr, however, brought back all of Dougal's previous worries; despite himself, he felt his muscles tense as if expecting some sudden attack.
"Riona Grady, this is one of your opposite numbers, working out of the Black Citadel," Soulkeeper said. "Killeen? Dougal Keane? Meet one of the finest warriors of this dragon-haunted generation: Crusader Ember Doomforge. She is to accompany you on your mission through the charr territories as both guard and guide."
Doomforge pointedly ignored the others and spoke instead to the leader of the Vigil. "With respect, General Soulkeeper, I do not need these weaklings by my side, not for such an important mission. They would only slow me down."
"Fine with me," Dougal said, edging away from the new charr. She stank of death and menace. "Send her, and the rest of us can go home."
"That is not possible," said Almorra, speaking to Dougal but intending her words for the new arrival. "Your knowledge will be key once you arrive at Ascalon City. Crusader Doomforge will help get you there."
"With respect…" Doomforge began once more, her eyes boring into her superior.
"Crusader Doomforge will help you get there," repeated General Almorra Soulkeeper, wheeling on the other charr and pulling herself to her full height, her own claws unsheathing. Dougal didn't think he would see a brawl break out in the general's chamber but that the two would establish a pecking order in the charr manner, through verbal threats and displays of power.