Jason's POV:
After about an hour, they finally stop so their dinosaurs could rest a bit more. Katherine's carriage went in another direction, so I hope she'll be fine by herself. Either way, I plan on doing a lot of damage here, they'll probably send reinforcements from all the nearby outposts, including the one Kat is at.
Right now it is early in the morning, meaning most of the Dark Clouds should still be resting... I think I should act. What do I do to get their attention... I haven't seen Tellius and his Carnotaurus since the last outpost, so maybe he went back north to his territory. If so, then this really is the perfect chance. I can easily break free of this cage and cause havoc all around by taunting the Triceratops. They are afraid of flames, so if I set this place on fire it will surely make everyone panic.
And so, I use all my strength and break the cage's door. That was easier than expected, they shouldn't be using wooden cages.
I sneak out of the carriage I was on and slowly crawl in the direction of a ground torch that is being used to light up the place.
This will be fun.
Nathan's POV:
Morning has come. I stretch while getting out of bed, wondering if my friends were already up. Last time I slept until noon so I wouldn't be surprised if I am late for today's mission.
I get dressed and was about to equip my sword, but remembered that Captain Zlodey ordered us new weapons, they are probably ready by now.
I open the door and leave the room. Now in the hallway, I see Leonard and Miguel coming out of their rooms, it seems I woke up early this time.
"Good morning guys." I greet them.
"Hey Nathan, seems like you didn't oversleep. Come, the others are having breakfast already." Leo says.
The three of us go downstairs and join Daniel, FIlipe and Silva, who were busy eating what seemed to be beef... Beef as breakfast is a bit strange but I'll have it nonetheless.
After enjoying the food, we leave the inn and head to the blacksmith, where Captain said for us to go.
Upon getting there, we see that Captain Zlodey was already waiting for us, with the weapons at his side.
"Good day to you all, I hope you're ready to fight for your lives." He says. I hope this is is version of 'good morning'...
"Here are your weapons, everyone gear up."
We all equip our new armament. Not gonna lie, I feel much safer when looking at my friends, especially Leo with his huge battle axe, I wonder how much does it weigh.
"Now then, to the stables." Captain orders, and we do as he says.
Arriving at the stables, we realize that the five Triceratops we got yesterday now have saddles, meaning it is now much easier to ride and command them. And next to them...
"Mount up, we're leaving now. Nathan you can ride that Parasaur over there."
Why does it have to be a Parasaur... I still feel bad for stealing eggs from one, and then eating him.
Guess I don't have a choice..
We all mount our dinosaurs. I guess I should name this Parasaur...
Mmm, his whole body is blue, reminds me of water, and the sky. Watty? No.. Welly? Mmm Cloud... that one reminds me of Dark Clouds.. oh I know, Skye! Your name is Skye now.
"What about you Captain? Will you be going on foot again?" Leonard asks.
"Nop."
He puts two fingers on his mouth and whistles loudly. A few seconds pass and a Dimorpohodon, a big flying creature, appears in the sky, landing next to him. It looks like a giant bat, except the head is more similar to a wolf's. The whole body but the wings is covered in a thick layer of brown fur, and there's huge fangs in his mouth.
"This is Suvy, hes been with me for a long time."
"Wow."
My companions seem impressed by the Captain's tame. I've only seen a Dimorphodon once when I was little, along with some other flying creatures, but it's always nice seeing one up close.
"Follow me, we'll meet with the second and third divisions. I'll explain the rest of the mission on the way."
Captain Zlodey gets on his tame and starts flying at a slow pace for us to be able to keep up. Parausaurs can run at a moderate speed but the Triceratops are a different situation.
"Since you guys have been in a battlefield before, can I assume all of you are ready to kill people?"
"If they are from the Dark Clouds tribe, then yes. There won't be mercy for them." Leonard answers, I'm sure we all feel like that.
"Good. Today we will be launching a counter attack. Are you guys familiar with the True Ice Mountains?"
"Not really . Is it those mountains in the distance where we're headed?"
"That's right, those mountains act like a border between the Warriors and Dark Clouds territory. They crossed it and built a few outposts on our side. Our scouts say the people they enslaved are currently caged there."
That means I can save my mother today... I hope she's doing okay.
"It seems they don't have any fliers on their side at the moment, so we shouldn't need to worry about any kind of air attacks. On the ground however, our scouts say they have spoted around four or five Carnotaurus, along with all the Raptors and Triceratops they have. You can expect them to have nearby a T-Rex at this point."
"I see... Hey Captain, is it true they have a Dragon? I heard some old stor-"
"Yes."
The Captain interrupts Leo, he sounds serious.
"Although you can say the Dragon is the one owning them haha. The way they worship him like a god makes me want to puke. Don't worry, there's no chance that flying, fire breathing giant lizard will come out of his lair."
This seems to be much more dangerous than I thought...
Katherine's POV:
I wonder what Jason meant by that Endwalker diary stuff, what does Nathan have to do with any of that. Anyway, he said he'd cause enough distraction for us to be able to escape but his carriage went in another direction. Do I still prepare to escape?...
"Miss Kat, I'm cold..."
"Me too."
Allen and Nick complain, hugging me hard.
"It's alright boys, don't worry, it will warm up soon enough."
I'll lie as much as I need right now. They seem old enough to understand the situation they're in though... I won't ask for their age because it may make them remember their family.
A few hours pass. From time to time, on of the Dark Clouds men comes check up on us. There are fewer than the first day, some already died just from the stress, cold and hunger... It amazes me how well this kids are holding on.
"ENEMY ATTACK!"
A huge shout can be heard from nearby. Are the Warriors attacking back??
"You three, go help at the other outpost, everything is on fire!"
What seems to be the leader orders some of the soldiers to go to another place. This must be Jason's doing.
"Ca-Captain! They are here!" One of the soldiers cries out.
"Damn it. Tell everyone to come, forget the other outpost, we can't lose the slaves."
I wonder if I can sneak out in the middle of this mess...
Nathan's POV:
"Charge!" The Captains shout, ordering everyone present to attack.
There are at least a hundred people here. Captain Lafina's division is huge. They have a lot of Raptors and what seems to be some sort of giant bears. They do look strong.
My Parasaur, Skye, can't do much in battle, but he'll be useful to carry the spoils of war back to base.
"Kill them!"
The leader of the outpost orders his troops. There are not many dinosaur riders on their side, so this is an advantage for us.
I stand back for the time being and let our riders take care of their defences. My friends completely obliterate their improvised wooden fences with the Triceratops, and the Raptors and Bears from the other divisions take care of the enemy soldiers. So far so good... This is why Captain Zlodey wasn't scared of us dying today, he knew we'd dominate this battle.
Guess I can go in and help now...
Katherine's POV:
The only thing I can hear now is battle cries and blades clashing... This is the perfect chance to escape.
"Allen, Nick. Listen carefully. All that noise means that we can now leave this place. I need you to stay right behind me and don't look back okay?"
The kids nod at me. This night we didn't get tied up because the Dark Clouds thought we'd be too scared to move, and even if we did, they'd caught us very fast with their dinosaurs.
The other people here should try to escape as well... there may not be any other chance.
"Everyone, it is now or never, if you want to leave this place, you must run right now."
I tell everyone in the carriage... but they all look down in fear of dying...
.... I don't have time for this.
I grab the kids by their hands and leave the carriage. Since it is covered by leather it wasn't possible to see what was happening from the inside, but now that I'm out, I realize the scale of the battle that is happening..
"Come, fast."
I start running with the kids and head to one of the sides of the outpost that's not being attacked so I can avoid everyone and escape.
"You there!"
Oh no.... so much for sneaking my way out.
"Get back in the carriage or I'll kill you where you stand."
A man from the enemy tribe points a crossbow at me. I can't go back.. they'll probably end up killing everyone they captured when they realize this battle is a loss for them.
I guess I'll need to run... and hope for the best.
But before I even started moving again, a huge bat came diving down from high up in the air, letting out a loud scream as its battle cry.
The enemy man realized he isn't going to get out of this...
"I'LL TAKE YOU WITH ME!"
He shouted, firing his crossbow..
It's like time slowed down for me, and the only thing I can see in this moment is the arrow coming towards me...
Is this is? Will I finally be able to talk to my husband again?
Out of nowhere, my body is pushed to the side. Nick pushed me away... but now...
The arrow reaches Nick's head, and thrusts its way into his skull...
Nick falls on the ground. Dead.